Love's Spell
by Shantel Lukasik
Summary: When a demigod, a daughter of Aphrodite, comes to the Academy as a cadet, Hercules is happy to have another friend. But can a friendship last with forces trying to break it apart? Can he withstand her beauty and stay only friends? Or will love intervene?
1. Chapter 1

It was late in the morning as the pair made their way down the dirt road, leaving Corinth behind them. They went at a steady pace, having more than enough time to reach Kora's before the other cadets. Jason glanced behind him quickly before smirking.

"You look **ridiculous**. Anyone would think you are a robber or a god in disguise."

His companion turned their head so stiffly, he knew that they were glaring at him. He had to assume this due to the hooded cloak they wore covering their entire body and, most importantly, their face. Jason shrugged and turned forward again.

"If you were me, this would not seem ridiculous. And I don't care what anyone thinks of my cloak.

"If you didn't care about what they think, you wouldn't be dressed like-"

"I care about what people do, not about what they think. Remember that."

Jason silently mimicked the words "Remember that" with a quick roll of the eyes.

"Alright, alright, let's just get to Kora's."

They walked for another ten minutes before reaching a coral pink building made out of clay with colorful decorations on the outside. The sounds inside were pretty loud, meaning that most of the cadets were probably hanging out in there before the semester started up. Jason led the way into the eatery, instantly causing people to turn and greet him. He waved and smiled and even hugged some of the people. His companion kept their hood as low as possible and just followed quickly behind. Many of the cadets stared at the cloaked figure, but since Jason made no issue about it, they didn't either. They stopped at a table where two young cadets were standing. One had long curly, dirty blonde hair with a small build and the other was tall and had very yellow blonde hair. While the short one was eyeing the obvious owner of the establishment, the other was resting his arms on the table, drink in hand. He was the one who noticed Jason first out of the pair of them. His face broke into a smirk as he stood up straight and clasped arms with his friend.

"Jase, how've you been?"

The curly haired boy turned and smiled before greeting him. Jason gave a small chuckle.

"Same as ever. Keeping the peace is a nightmare, still trying to learn the ropes, but, hey, I love Corinth!"

Both boys suddenly noticed the hooded figure in Jason's shadow. Simultaneously, they leaned to the side, attempting to look under the hood. The person turned away and Jason got their attention by smacking the table.

"Now, now. This is a friend of mine. No peeking and you'll get to meet them formally up at the Academy," he told them sternly before turning to his friend," This is Hercules and Iolaus."

Each boy raised their hand in turn with a skeptical expression. The mystery person nodded in recognition. They glanced around before the boys were taken aback at the sound of a soft feminine voice coming out of the hood.

"I thought you said you had a friend named Lilith."

"She'll meet us at the Academy," Hercules answered, attempting to look under the hood again.

His glance was rewarded with a view of very light brown, almost blonde, hair. The mysterious girl turned away with a huff, having noticed his peeking. Hercules pretended to be innocent by turning away and whistling quietly. The girl turned to the door.

"I'll continue on then. Might as well introduce myself to Cheiron before the other cadets get there."

She was already moving to the door when Iolaus suddenly ran in front of her. She stumbled back in surprise, but caught herself. He made an obvious attempt to look at her face, but got swatted away.

"You shouldn't go alone. The roads can have some nasty people on it."

"I think I can manage."

She pushed him away, only to be stopped by Hercules. The mystery girl groaned in annoyance. She glanced back at Jason only to catch him chuckling to himself. Hercules have her a winning smile.

"Iolaus is right. Let's all get going. We can get to know each other better. A friend of Jason's is a friend of ours."

The girl scoffed and pulled her cloak tighter around her.

"I should have gone to the Amazons. But...since I chose the Academy...I assume I can't escape the two of you. If you insist, fine. Let's go."

She pushed past the two boys who high fived. Iolaus quickly followed her out of the restaurant while Hercules turned to Jason. He wiggled his eyebrows at him.

"Friend or girlfriend?" he asked.

Jason rolled his eyes and punched him in the arm as they exited.

"Only a friend. Ever. But that doesn't mean anyone at the Academy stands a chance with her."

"Ahh, don't say that..."

"I'm going to enjoy watching you all try, though!"

Jason laughed mysteriously, leaving Hercules confused, but they caught up with the pair easily and walked in a single line down the dirt path. Iolaus was already talking her head off.

"So! You're from Corinth?"

"Yes."

"Live in the palace?"

"Sort of."

"So that's how you know Jason?"

"Yes."

"Are you single?"

"Are you?"

"Yes."

"Then no."

Jason and Hercules openly laughed at that while Iolaus went silent and moved away from her. It took them less than five minutes to reach the Academy. The boys led her straight into the training hall where Cheiron was already setting things up for the arrival of the cadets. He smiled and turned to greet them.

"Good to see you boys are doing well. And who is this?"

Jason stepped up.

"Cheiron, this is-"

"Nerissa. I feel very honored to be attending your Academy."

Hercules and Iolaus gaped at the girl. She had pulled the cloak off to reveal herself to be astonishingly beautiful. Her light brown hair fell around her shoulders in waves, framing an almond shaped face with a glowing skin tone. Her skin was baby smooth and had no tan, but was not pale in the least. She had bright green eyes that were intelligent and her body was perfectly proportioned as if she had been sculpted by the best sculptor Greece had to offer. She had on a female warrior's outfit, but it had a very feminine aspect by being made out of soft cloth along with leather. The clothes were a unique color as she had a baby blue leather skirt, with black shorts underneath, and a baby blue cloth shirt that stopped short of her diaphragm so that her stomach was revealed. She was drop dead gorgeous. Hercules and Iolaus could feel themselves being pulled toward her by a force beyond their control. Or at least, beyond a force they wanted to control.

"Ah, yes," Cheiron nodded," I hope that you will like it here. Just, uh, try not to let the company you keep effect your grades here."

He smirked and gave the boys a sneaky look. Nerissa glanced around at the boys and nodded seriously. She seemed to frown at how they slowly kept moving closer.

"I promise I won't. I will work very hard."

The centaur smiled at her.

"You are your father's daughter after all, correct?"

Nerissa visibly cringed.

"I...do my best. It is hard with a mother like Aphrodite."

Hercules's jaw dropped at this revelation.

"A-A-Aphrodite?"

Cheiron looked over at him.

"Yes. And her father is Balian, Captain of the Palace Guard of Corinth."

Iolaus leaned over to whisper to Hercules.

"What would make the Goddess of Love and Beauty fall for that old stiff?"

That comment earned him a glare from Nerissa that made him squeak in fear. She turned back to Cheiron with a bow.

"As for the room you requested for your own personal use, it will take about a month to set up."

Nerissa's face went pink with embarrassment. The boys found it rather adorable, Jason included.

"I am so sorry to put you through trouble like this, I-"

Cheiron held up a hand to stop her from speaking.

"Don't be. You explained well enough in your letter that I understand it is necessary. Until then you will sleep where the other cadets do. Jason, Hercules, Iolaus, please show her around and make her feel welcome."

The boys nodded and Cheiron cantered off somewhere. Nerissa turned to the boys and started as Hercules and Iolaus were now practically breathing down her neck. Using her hands, she pushed each of them back a few inches. Iolaus suddenly took her hand in both of his.

"If I may say so, you are gorgeous. Nothing less could be expected from a daughter of Aphrodite."

Nerissa pulled her hand away.

"Thank you, but your flattery is not appreciated."

There was an awkward pause until Jason clapped Iolaus on the back.

"I haven't played ball in forever. Let's go."

Iolaus started getting dragged off, protesting about staying with Nerissa. Hercules turned and shouted after them.

"But what about showing her around?"

"It's boring. You do it," Jason told him before the two boys disappeared around the corner.

Hercules made a face after them but turned to Nerissa with a small laugh. He shrugged.

"So, shall we begin."

Nerissa's eyes scanned him over from his leather boots, up his leather pants, over his yellow leather vest, and up into his bright blue eyes. Zeus's eyes. A slight smile graced her lips.

"You are your father's son," she stated, shaking her head.

Hercules's smile fell and he stepped closer to her, making her go rigid.

"You've met my father?"

Nerissa cleared her throat and stepped back. Looking away she put a hand in front of her to keep him back.

"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry."

"No, it's just that I-"

She shook her head, stopping him.

"I know what you want, Hercules. You want to meet your dad, you want him to acknowledge you, and you want to know all about him. I don't want to be the one you irritate to death in your attempt to find answers, so I'll explore on my own."

She was about to walk away, but Hercules stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I won't do that to you, I promise."

Hercules suddenly bowed with a smirk on his face, his hand stretched out to the side.

"This way my lady to the sleeping chambers."

Nerissa's mouth opened as if she were going to say something, but she decided against it, shrugging, and went in the direction suggested. As Hercules promised, he didn't ask her about Zeus. He only told her all about the Academy, the adventures he and his friends had gotten pulled into, and explained how bad the food was. He also talked a lot about his mother, Alcmene. Nerissa could tell that he loved her very much. She told him that much, making him blush slightly.

"She's the best," he admitted, sitting down on the edge of the well outside.

Jason and Iolaus were loudly playing ball not too far away, but they were so into their game that they didn't bother with the other two.

"It was hard, you know," Hercules continued," She had to raise me by herself and, I know for a fact, I had to be a handful. But, she did a good job. She's great and...yeah, I do love her a lot."

Nerissa smoothed her skirt down.

"More than anyone in the world."

"Hm?"

Hercules looked at her in confusion. The girl looked up at him. She was easily just shy of being taller than Iolaus so Hercules was rather tall in comparison. She hopped onto the well beside him and smiled to herself.

"I can tell how much love someone has in their heart. And so I know you love your mother the most in the world. Then there are those two, the girl Lilith, and Cheiron. You may not think about it much, but you can tell how good a person is inherently just by knowing how many people they love. You, Hercules, have a good heart and love many people. You're an incredible individual."

Hercules smiled at her, appreciating the compliment. He had a feeling she would be a good friend to have around for a morale booster. As long as one was on her good side, that is.

"Do you go around saying things like this often?"

She shook her head.

"Mostly only to demigods. See, where you have super strength because Zeus is...well, Zeus, I have more feminine and emotional gifts. I can gauge the love in a person's heart and I'm...incredibly persuasive, but I hate using that gift. Do you know how horrible it is to twist someone's will to your own? Convenient in some situations, but a terrible thing to do in general. I use it only to make other people become interested in one another. Keeps the guys who try to get me to date them from bothering me."

Nerissa looked over at Hercules to catch him eyeing her. She suddenly laughed, surprising him. It was a very musical laugh, different from any he had heard before.

"My persuasion doesn't work on demigods, Hercules. You have nothing to worry about. I'm sorry if I'm telling you strange things. I feel comfortable around gods and demigods because I've spent a decent amount of time in Olympus."

She went suddenly quiet. Hercules could tell she was trying to avoid mentioning anything she might know that he would like to hear. He nudged her shoulder gently.

"I like hearing stories. Tell me anything you want. But I'm curious, can you do a love scan on Jason and Iolaus?"

Nerissa pursed her lips and stared at the two boys running around. She hummed quietly as she turned back to him.

"Jason loves his father dearly. There is a very strong love connected to someone who passes away, it is kind of depressing to me. It is a very aching love. Jason has a deep love for his people, making him a worthy king for the future. And of course he cares for his friends. Your friend Iolaus...he has fewer loves, but they are incredibly strong. His love for his parents doesn't even compare to the love he has for you and Jason. He's a good person overall, but I detest this uncontrolled love he has for any woman that exists on the planet."

Hercules laughed. The two of them heard more laughter coming from the gate. The cadets had finally made their way to the Academy. Nerissa took a deep breath as Hercules stood up. He turned to her, catching her looking at the cadets with worry.

"Nerissa?"

Her green eyes instantly met his and Hercules felt the pulling force again. Beauty was obviously a dangerous thing. He shook his head to snap out of it as the look on her face looked pained.

"What's wrong?" he continued.

She watched him for a moment longer before tilting her head to the side.

"Hercules. Can I ask for your help?"

He did not even hesitate in nodding his head.

"Will you keep the males from fawning all over me? I'm not trying to sound conceited, but-"

Hercules put his hands on the well edge and leaned forward on them.

"No, I get it. You have a natural pull, even I can feel it. The pains of being beautiful?"

Nerissa sighed.

"It's a good thing I can tell when someone is being fake as far as feelings toward me, but males can be pushy and very overwhelming."

"Then why pick the Academy? I mean, it's great to have you here because I like making new friends and meeting new demigods, but you said you could have gone to the Amazons."

Nerissa put a hand on his shoulder as she slid off the side of the well. There were already boys pointing at her and talking in groups while glancing over. Removing her hand once she was standing steadily, she turned to him.

"I want to be a warrior. A good one, no matter who my mother is. People can scoff at me and say that a daughter of Aprodite can't be a warrior, but I'll prove them wrong. Imagine if I do that in a male oriented place? Beat the odds, right?"

Hercules shrugged.

"Okay, I get it. But let's get you inside before the boys start coming over here asking for your hand in marriage."

Nerissa glanced at the males and quickly turned to go inside. Hercules whistled, grabbing Jason and Iolaus's attention. The two boys nodded as Hercules pointed inside and the three followed her into the Academy. Before Jason and Iolaus reached them, Nerissa stopped and turned to Hercules.

"Thank you, Hercules. For listening."

He gave her a sheepish smile.

"Anytime."

Author's Note: Yes, Aphrodite exists earlier than in the Raimi Greek world. But I have lots of fun ideas for a daughter of Aphrodite to go through. I hoped you liked it so far and continue to read!


	2. Chapter 2

Lilith bounced into the training room only to stop in astonishment as all the males in the room were whispering instead of being loud and boisterous as usual. With furrowed eyebrows she sidled over to where her best three guy friends stood in the middle of the room. She was surprised to find them all with their arms crossed over their chests and watching an empty doorway.

"Hey, guys, what's going on? Why is everyone acting so weird?"

The boys looked over at Lilith and nodded to her. Iolaus tapped her shoulder and pointed to the doorway just as a beautiful teenage girl stepped awkwardly into the room. Lilith's eyes widened in alarm as the boys descended on her like a pack of wolves. Jason and Hercules were gone in a split second, appearing again when they were pushing the male cadets away from the girl. Iolaus sighed and looked down at Lilith.

"That's Nerissa. She's a daughter of Aphrodite and Jason's Captain of the Guard, Balian. Jason brought her to the Academy because she wants to be a warrior, but...well, **that**."

He waved a hand as the boys sullenly dispersed and Nerissa followed Jason and Hercules over to the other two. When Lilith's and Nerissa's eyes met, the new girl broke into a grin.

"You must be Lilith. I'm Nerissa. It's nice to meet you."

The two shook hands and Lilith laughed slightly.

"You've heard of me?" she asked in surprise.

"Of course! Jason told me all about his friends here."

Iolaus put a hand on Jason's shoulder and cooed.

"You're such a sweetheart," he told his friend.

Jason made a funny face at him before pushing his hand off. The sound of hooves alerted the cadets to Cheiron's entrance. Everyone turned to face him.

"Welcome back, cadets. I hope your breaks were relaxing, but now it is time to get back to your training. Classes will start up again tomorrow, but for today I expect you all to brush up on your fighting. For any new students, remember that dinner is at seven sharp every evening and six every morning."

Iolaus leaned over to Nerissa.

"And lunch is twelve on the dot, but we can always go to Kora's instead."

Nerissa's eyebrows raised in recognition. Cheiron was still talking.

"-so make sure you all get plenty of sleep. Now, get to training."

With a nod to them all, he turned and left them all. Talking started up, this time it was more normal and loud as everyone broke into pairs or threes. Their small group had all turned to look at Nerissa. She made the group uneven. She awkwardly backed away from them.

"I'll just...practice by myself," she said.

She turned and went over to the staffs. Lilith felt bad for her. Looking around, no other guys in the room were willing to partner with her. They probably didn't want to make a fool of themselves in front of her as long as they didn't know her skill level. She turned to the three boys with her and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, who is going to practice with her?"

Jason's hand instantly went up.

"I just want to say I won't spar with her."

The group frowned at him.

"Why not?" Hercules asked.

Jason shrugged.

"She always wants me to train her back in Corinth. I finally got her to stop pestering me about practicing when I convinced her to enroll here. Someone else can be her partner. Lilith, why don't you be my partner?"

Iolaus frowned at him.

"Why not me?"

"Because Lilith is better than you."

"Hey!"

Hercules and Lilith glanced at Nerissa, who spun the staff around, testing the length and weight. Iolaus and Jason argued their way over to a fighting mat. Lilith smiled up at Hercules.

"Have you gotten a chance to get to know her?"

Hercules looked down at his friend.

"Yeah, a little. She's nice, but she's not good around groups of people. Especially mortal males."

Lilith frowned.

"What do you mean "mortal males"?"

Hercules's folded arms dropped and he pretended to laugh.

"I have no idea. I meant guys who aren't friends with Jason. Sorry, my brain isn't working today."

The female blonde laughed.

"If you ask me, it's never working, but since you know her a little, get to know her some more. She should be more comfortable with you then, right?"

"Sure...if one conversation does that."

Lilith moved behind him and pushed him forward.

"It makes all the difference."

She then moved off to Jason and Iolaus. Hercules turned to where Nerissa was. She was now looking around at the other groups. He felt bad for her. She had the look of someone who never gets picked to be on any team's side in sports. He walked casually over to her and grabbed a staff. He tapped her on the back of the head with it and smiled.

"Need a partner?"

She looked up, a look of relief spreading across her face. She then frowned.

"What about the others?"

"Ah, they're fine. Lilith said I should partner with you anyway and, honestly, I'm all for it. Come on."

Hercules moved in front of her and got into a battle stance.

"Show me what you've got, babe."

Nerissa smirked and got into a battle stance as well.

"I'm not that good, but if you're going to call me a name like that I need to attempt to teach a lesson."

Hercules grinned and swung the staff around.

"Oh, you don't like names, huh? How's doll face or hot stuff?"

"Alright, pretty boy, stop with the taunting."

She lunged forward with the staff, but Hercules blocked. He swept low with the staff, causing her to jump over it. She spun and tried to hit him in the side. He ducked and aimed for her side, but she blocked the staff with a kick. Quickly she spun and kicked him right in the chest with her other foot. Hercules slid across the mat a few feet before jumping from where he was sprawled on his back onto his feet.

"Nice kick."

"Thank you."

Hercules lunged first this time with Nerissa side-stepping the attack and giving him a good whack on his butt. He stood up straight, flipping his hair out of his face, and turned to catch her giggle at him.

"Have I been bad or something?"

"Oh, I just assumed..."

"Ah, well then..."

Hercules kicked at a ninety degree angle, kicking her in the stomach as she had been off guard. He swung around to kick with his other leg, but she dodged that one, sweeping under and knocking him to the mat with her foot. Hercules rolled back up to standing, finding her already standing as well. The two of them kept attacking with their staffs for awhile, neither getting leverage over the other. That was until Nerissa suddenly swung under Hercules staff which he had held out horizontally to block one of her attacks. He didn't know what she was going to do as she was suddenly between him and his staff with her back facing him. She grabbed both her staff and his and pulled him down with her into a somersault. Hercules landed flat on his back with her sitting on his stomach, her back still to him. She then slide out from the staffs, taking hers with her, and pointed it at his head.

"I win?" she asked.

Hercules smiled at her.

"Nah."

She stood with her feet apart which made it easy for Hercules to trip her. She landed on her back with a yelp.

"I'm going to call that a tie," Hercules told her, sitting up.

Nerissa just lay on the floor, with her eyes closed. She slammed a fist into the mat.

"I'm an idiot."

Hercules got up, dropping his staff, and went over to her. He grabbed her hand and easily pulled her up to a stand again.

"Are you kidding? You're pretty good. Your whole dodge and attack method works for your body stature. You're at the Academy to get better and you can only go up from here. From where I'm standing, you're pretty good. I take it you trained with your dad."

Nerissa sighed and picked up Hercules's abandoned staff and put both weapons back on the rack.

"Yeah, a bit. But he always said he would never acknowledge me as a warrior because I was too soft. That's why I'm here. You know, he actually told me that I'm not a warrior until I've won a battle of significance. Such a jerk."

Hercules saw what was going on. She was trying to win her father's approval just as much as he was trying to win's Zeus's. He went over and slung an arm around her shoulders.

"If it makes you feel any better, you can kick Iolaus's butt easily."

Nerissa smiled at him. Her face suddenly went serious and she pulled away from him. Hercules put up his hands like he'd just burned them.

"What? Sorry."

The girl shook her head and nodded to a group of guys nearby. They glanced over at the two of them every now and then, whispering.

"Of course Hercules would get her attention," he swore he heard one of them whisper.

He rolled his eyes.

"Ignore them," he told her," Let's go see if you can actually beat up Iolaus or not, shall we?"

She gave him a skeptical look, but he just smirked and made smoochie faces at her.

"Come on, hot stuff," he said in a funny voice," Show him what you've got."

Nerissa's face cracked as she laughed. She punched his arm before following him.

"Don't call me that!"


	3. Chapter 3

At breakfast the next morning Nerissa and Lilith both stared in disgust as Iolaus wolfed down his meal. Lilith stirred her oats as she stared while Nerissa hadn't even touched her food.

"That is very gross," Nerissa commented.

Lilith nodded.

"That is one thing I did not miss seeing every morning. At least he gets bored with oats after about a week."

"Oh, good..."

Jason nudged Iolaus, who looked up, oats dribbling out of his mouth. All of his friends gagged at that.

"What?" the pig asked, wiping his mouth.

Nerissa picked up her bowl and passed it to Iolaus.

"Here. Enjoy."

The boy's eyes lit up and he practically swallowed the entire bowl while thanking her at the same time, though it sounded more like he was drowning in the oats. Hercules and Jason both looked apologetic for their friend.

"Sorry, he missed out on table etiquette class as a child," Hercules whispered to Nerissa.

"Did he ever go to any classes at all?"

"Yeah...no."

Shaking her head, the female demigod unrolled her scroll to see what classes they had for the day.

"History...Math...Latin. Then there is lunch for an hour and a half...Battle Strategies...Greek...Study of the gods. Why do we have to learn Latin or study the gods?"

Jason shrugged and moved Iolaus's empty bowls away from him so that he wouldn't' lick them.

"Fiducius thinks those classes are all necessary."

Nerissa looked around at the group.

"Who is Fiducius?"

Lilith leaned close to the girl and pointed across the room at a small balding man who still had some brown hair left. He looked very serious and scowled at almost every cadet.

"That's Fiducius. He pretty much teaches every class that doesn't have to do with fighting."

"He's the worst and totally has it out for me," Iolaus stated.

"Now why would anyone have it out for **you**, Iolaus?" Nerissa smirked.

Most of the cadets were getting up and heading to class now so they followed the masses. Hercules sat in the back next to a cadet that Nerissa didn't know. Jason took the seat in front of them, so she sat beside him. Iolaus was about to sit in front of her, but Lilith pushed him over so she could sit in front of Nerissa. The two girls smiled at each other.

"Just in case I want to pass notes," Lilith said, making Iolaus roll his eyes.

Hercules gave a girlish laugh.

"Ohh! I can pass notes to Nerissa, too! Yay!"

Those around Hercules who heard laughed. The laughing didn't even quiet down when Fiducius stepped into the room. He had to clear his throat about five times before anyone paid him any attention. Once class got started though, Nerissa thought she was going to fall asleep. Fiducius was rather boring, but she had promised Cheiron that she would get good grades so she kept her attention on him all throughout the morning. At lunch time, while all the cadets were filing out of the classroom, Nerissa's wrists were suddenly grabbed by Hercules and Lilith.

"Come on! We have turn if we want a good seat at Kora's!" Hercules told her.

She almost tripped as she was pulled forward, but she caught herself and ran with them. Jason and Iolaus were already ahead of them. They got there before most of the cadets, but Nerissa almost passed out at the entrance.

"I haven't run that much since...I don't even remember...Ugh."

Hercules caught her as she almost fell over for real and pulled her over to one of the low tables with couches around it. He sat her down between him and Jason while Lilith and Iolaus brought Kora over to meet their new friend.

"Nerissa, this is Kora. Kora, Nerissa."

The younger girl smiled at the establishment's owner. Kora was pretty with platinum blonde hair. She was dressed head to toe in blue, which went well with her eyes.

"It's nice to meet you, Nerissa," she smiled.

"Same. I've heard a lot about you! I mean...uh...from the cadets, that is."

Hercules looked between the two. Kora looked confused for a moment before she made a silent "Oh" with her mouth. It then clicked with Hercules. Artemis must have mentioned Kora before to Nerissa. He leaned over toward Kora who lent him her ear.

"She's a daughter of Aphrodite and has apparently been to Olympus."

"Alright, I see..."

The other cadets began coming in so the group gave her their orders quickly. Nerissa just let Jason pick for her since she didn't know what Kora served but didn't want to take up time figuring it out. As Kora moved away, Lilith tapped Nerissa on the knee from across the table.

"So, what did you think of the classes? Anything you think you'll have trouble with?"

Nerissa leaned back on the couch and stretched.

"Other than trying to stay awake for Fiducius's lessons, I'm all set with History at least. Being the daughter of a Captain of the Guard means you hear **a lot** about history. I stink at Math, so forget it. I'm alright with languages, especially Greek of course. My Latin isn't bad though. I'm not really looking forward to battle strategies class. I'm...not really wired for that sort of thing. I should blow Study of the gods out of the water though. If I haven't learned anything from visiting my mother, it would be pretty sad."

Lilith and Iolaus leaned toward her.

"You've visited Olympus?"

Nerissa's relaxed demeanor dropped.

"I-uh...yeah. Just every now and then. Usually I visit her at her temple when she gets pushy, but sometimes she just kinda...pops me up there. Kind of annoying actually..."

Lilith sat up straight and squinted her eyes at Nerissa.

"Would you be related to Hercules then? Like...your mom is his daughter so you're like...his niece?"

Hercules and Nerissa glanced at each other before they both coughed.

"Uh, in an adoptive way. As you may or may not know...take notes for Study of the gods here...my mother came from the sea. So...she's more like...what my names means, daughter of the sea. The technicalities are kind of leery, but Zeus pretty much adopted her so I'm his adopted granddaughter. Since there is no actual blood relation other than family ties, no we are not related and I will never consider myself Hercules's niece. Sorry."

Hercules put up his hands.

"Hey, that is perfectly fine by me."

The son of Zeus caught Iolaus mouthing "Damn it" at him, to which Hercules just snickered at. Jason looked over at Nerissa.

"You never told me what Olympus was like."

Nerissa thought about it.

"Its fluffy. Impressive architecture is used to make the buildings. It's not as entertaining up there as you'd think. I like it much better down here."

Kora came over and placed their food on the table. Just as she was about to say something, one of the cadets from the Academy went over to Nerissa. His face was so close to hers that even Hercules felt uncomfortable as he was sitting right beside her. The girl looked ready to hit the cadet straight across the restaurant.

"Hey, Nerissa, wanna go out with me this weekend. We have no classes then and I could show you a...pretty fun time."

He ran his tongue across his lips making even Lilith cringe with pity for Nerissa. The daughter of Aphrodite was only able to give a very fake smile.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not here to date. Please leave me alone."

The guy stepped back. Iolaus stood up, seeing that the cadet was about to make a big deal out of this.

"Adrastos, leave her alone."

"Why? You three aren't. Not that **you** stand a chance, but don't you all think it is unfair that the Prince of Corinth gets all the girls attention? Why don't you give us other guys a chance?"

Jason growled.

"Hey! She doesn't want to date anyone, that includes me."

Nerissa looked over at Jason and then back at Adrastos.

"Guys, look-"

"I propose a contest for the lady," Adrastos said, ignoring her.

Nerissa's eyebrows raised. She was getting angry now.

"**Excuse** me?"

"The most talented cadet gets the girl and Prince's can't participate. This Saturday."

Nerissa suddenly stood up and grabbed Adrastos shirt collar. She glared at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

The cadet had the nerve to attempt to kiss her while she held him by his shirt, but Hercules, having seen it coming, had grabbed the empty tray Kora was holding and put it between their faces. Adrastos gave the tray a good kiss. Nerissa snarled from her side of the tray.

"No fights!" Kora shouted.

Nerissa shoved him away.

"I'm not a prize, you-"

"Nerissa! Darling, calm down."

All those in the restaurant turned in shock. Nerissa eyes widened in horror. A beautiful woman with golden blonde curls that went down to her waist was standing in the middle of the building. The most scandalous thing as that her outfit was made out of see-through pink cloth with a skimpy top and where one could see her underwear as a bottom.

"Oh my gods..." Iolaus said, staring.

"Mother!" Nerissa hissed, running over to her," Leave. Just please, please leave. Why would you show up like this?"

Aphrodite pulled Nerissa into a huge hug, squishing the girls face against her chest.

"Was your first day of school fun? Oh, stop whining, Rissie."

Hercules and Jason exchanged a look and Jason mouthed "Rissie?".

Nerissa got away and gaped at her mother. Aphrodite laughed.

"Oh, I was just eavesdropping a little and when I heard of a contest for your love I just couldn't help from popping in. I can't let you stop something as good as that. A cute little talent show so you can find a date! I **love** it."

"You're insane," Nerissa protested.

Aphrodite ignored her and raised her arms above her head.

"This contest has my blessing, dear cadets. Do your best to win my daughter's heart! I'll be the judge. See you all this weekend!"

She then disappeared in a flash of light after blowing a kiss to her daughter. Nerissa stiffly went back to her seat and hid her head in her lap. She waited until talking started up again before raising her head. She looked around at the astonished faces of her new friends. Hercules was about to speak, but she suddenly got up.

"I'll see you all back at the Academy."

She then fled the building. Iolaus pointed after her.

"She was running faster just then than when we were trying to get her here," he noted.

Hercules tried to imagine how it would feel to have his dad impede in on his life like that. He just couldn't see it happening and he felt bad for her. Jason leaned forward.

"What are you guys going to do?" he asked, seriously.

"Us? What about you?" Iolaus asked.

Jason looked around at them.

"I can't compete, remember? I assume that leaves Lilith out, too. Kora, any ideas?"

Kora shook her head.

"Sorry, but I've got tables to attend to."

With that she left. Hercules leaned his elbows on his knees.

"I have one idea. Iolaus, do you remember that time when Ares showed up at the talent show Kora hosted?"

Iolaus frowned.

"Yeah. You want us to get Ares to perform?"

Hercules sighed.

"Noo. Why don't you sing like you did then? I'll play the lyre and we'll kick ass and then **you**__can let her not have to go on a date since the two of us would have both won. Aphrodite will think she has to go on two dates, right? But after she is gone, will tell Nerissa she's free."

Jason and Lilith nodded while Iolaus thought about it.

"But what if you guys don't win?" Lilith asked.

"Well...we'll just **have** to. You guys were there when it happened. We were awesome!"

Iolaus ran a hand through his hair.

"It's true. The crowd loved me. Alright, Herc, you've got it. We'll do this for Nerissa."


	4. Chapter 4

Nerissa went all but mute for the rest of the week. She did not speak unless spoken to as long as it had nothing to do with her personally or the gods. She endured a lot of guys coming up to her and telling her that they were competing for a date by listening to what they had to say and then walking away without a word. Iolaus and Hercules were practicing their song after classes when Nerissa would disappear to random areas in the woods to study. Lilith and Jason would always help the two competitors by giving them honest feedback. The two of them were surprised at how good the pair actually was. Go figure that Hercules could actually play the lyre and that Iolaus had a voice.

The night before the competition, Hercules got up in the middle of the night, only to look down and see that Nerissa was not in her bedroll. Jason had let her take his spot next Hercules as her previous spot put her right next to Adrastos. They weren't completely sure he wouldn't do anything inappropriate to her while they were asleep. Glancing around, Hercules found Iolaus, Lilith, and Jason still in bed peacefully. He slid out of his sheets and snuck out of the bed chamber. He checked the training room, but she was not in there. He tiptoed past Cheiron's and Fiducius's rooms and went to the front door. Peeking out, he spotted a long haired individual sitting on the edge of the well, looking up at the starry sky. He slipped out the door and closed it quietly. In the moonlight, Nerissa looked very similar to her mother. Her night dress was made of satin that was a soft green color. She had a see-through cover over her that was the same green and was identical to her mother's. Hercules would never let Aphrodite hear this thought, but he thought Nerissa was much prettier than her mother in a very mortal way. He didn't want to think of the side of her that was Balian as being the side that made her beautiful. That would be creepy.

He quietly walked across the dirt courtyard and hopped onto the well beside her. Nerissa was so startled by his sudden appearance that she almost fell into the well, but Hercules caught her.

"Sorry. I noticed you were out of bed so I went to find you. You shouldn't be wandering around this late. What if Adrastos had noticed instead of me?"

Nerissa nodded.

"I know, but...I'm just worried about tomorrow. I'm sorry. I swear, everywhere I go I'm a possession. The prized daughter of Balian of Corinth. The daughter of Aphrodite, a trophy to be shelved. Complete and utter...perfection. Right...You know what **is** perfection? That sky up there. **That** is perfection. The oceans...rivers...lakes. Untouched woods and forests. Nature. That is **perfection**. Not me. I'm a...unique "specimen". But I bleed and hurt and cry. And I prefer it that way. Being perfect, or perceived as perfect...It's dull."

Hercules hummed in agreement to what she said. She looked so depressed yet he couldn't help laughing.

"What?" she demanded, feeling insulted.

"I should talk to you at night more. You opened up like a book after days of barely saying a word."

Nerissa groaned.

"Damn it. I guess I just needed to release that."

"Oh, no. I enjoy it. Release more, please."

She nudged him with her shoulder.

"Alright. How about this? My mom is constantly butting into my life. My finding love is her only concern. How am I supposed to find the real thing when she does stuff like this? And I came here to become a warrior and within a day she decides to judge a stupid contest that for all intents and purposes should be cancelled. I really don't want to go on a date. All those guys will want is..."

Nerissa and Hercules both shuddered at the thought. They then looked at each other and laughed.

"Don't worry," Hercules told her," We, your awesome friends, have a plan."

"Oh, well, I'm doomed."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Nerissa laughed, making Hercules smile.

"You're lucky. Zeus only meddled in your life enough to issue that if the gods kill you they go straight to Tartarus."

He looked at her in astonishment.

"Lucky? That's not what I'd call it. I wish that he would acknowledge me. He won't even come and say hello or show up on Parent's Day. It's always just been me and mother. You understand, right? You want Balian to see you as a warrior, not just a child."

Nerissa went silent. She didn't seem completely convinced, but she did not protest against his statement. It got awkwardly silent between the two of them. Hercules pushed out his lips in thought and crossed his arms. He glanced over at Nerissa to see her pull her legs up against her chest, a hand on the wooden post on the well. Her other wrapped around her thighs to keep her skirt close to her. He turned to her with a question.

"I was wondering, how do you find clothes like that? Your outfits are pretty unique to you."

Nerissa looked down at her nightdress.

"Oh. Yeah, my mom picks out my clothes. That is something I gave up on years ago. It was annoying back when I was around ten years old, but now I kind of like them. I like light pastel colors and she takes that into account."

Hercules smirked and leaned a little closer to her.

"Well, they look good on you."

Nerissa turned away from him, but in the moonlight he caught a pink tinge creep onto her face. He chuckled softly and noticed her grin slightly. She turned to him and tugged at the sleeve of his nightshirt.

"Well, you don't look too bad in purple."

"Why, thank you. Coming from a fashionable lady such as yourself, I feel grateful for the compliment."

The girl shook her head at his statement. Hercules slid off of the well and turned to Nerissa, extending a hand to her.

"We should get some sleep."

Her legs lowered and she placed her hand on his. Her nails were perfectly filed. Her hand was soft, as if she had never used it or touched anything before. Nerissa grinned, noticing Hercules examine her hand so thoroughly.

"I was born this way. My skin's natural state is to be flawless, but cuts take the normal amount of time to heal, just like any other mortal."

She jumped off the well and moved over to Hercules, taking his hand in both of hers. She traced from his wrist, over his palm, and along his fingers. She smiled to herself.

"You've done many things. Your hands prove all the work you've ever done. They are strong and rough, like a warrior's hands **should** be. Mine are destined to never show a history. To me, beauty lies in hands like everyone else's."

Hercules raised an eyebrow.

"Not to disagree with you, but I think it is pretty normal to see everyone else as better and ignore how great your self is."

He took her right hand and kissed it gently.

"Your hands may not be perfect, but they **are** beautiful."

Nerissa pulled her hand away from his and smirked. She wagged a finger at him.

"Watch it, mister. I've heard from Lilith how you can be a charmer. I won't fall for sweet and innocent tricks like that."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and pretended to saunter off hotly. She stopped a few feet away to throw a smile over her shoulder. Hercules looked a bit stunned.

"Lilith said I'm a charmer? She's completely lying. Wait, did you just fall for me a little? Nerissa!"

He just heard her laugh slightly as he caught up to her.

"I don't fall that easily, my friend."

"So I am your friend."

He laughed as she gave him a look that clearly showed how stupid she thought he was sometimes. They then snuck back into the Academy and got into bed.

The competition started at noon at Kora's restaurant. The building was packed with students performing in front of Aphrodite. Jason, Lilith, and Nerissa sat in the back watching all the acts. There were dancers, jugglers, singers, and even a mime. There were painters, poets, and all kinds of crazy things going on. Nerissa sat between her friends with her head on her hands. She was biting her lip nervously as Adrastos did a very impressive dance for his talent. He was at least in the top three of men she could possibly have to go on a date with. She kept glancing at Lilith and Jason, who looked rather calm. She growled every so often to the point that Jason began looking at her strangely.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you think? I don't want to go on a date and here we have this idiot event of males trying to get me to go out with them. It's pathetic to watch. I thought you all had a plan. Hercules is such a liar..."

Lilith hugged the other girl around the shoulders.

"He wasn't lying. Don't worry. Everything will turn out fine."

"Then tell me about this plan!"

"Nope."

Nerissa sighed.

"I wish they were at least here..."

Adrastos finished his act with a bow and a wink to her, which only made her glare at him. Another cadet took the stage and added one more love poem to the at least ten other ones they'd listened to earlier. Kora passed close to them and Jason called her over.

"How many people are signed up? We've been here for at least thirty minutes."

Kora shook her head.

"Too many, but there are only five acts left. The one you're waiting for is last."

Nerissa's head popped up and she looked over at Kora, her eyes wide.

"An act? The plan has to do with an act?"

Kora and Jason exchanged a look. The owner then looked at Nerissa and smiled.

"I'm going to go over there now."

She hustled away quickly, trying to avoid Nerissa's staring. The girl then looked between Jason and Lilith. She then grabbed Jason's jacket and pulled his ear to her mouth.

"TELL ME!" she shouted, making Jason cover his ears and Lilith to jump away in alarm.

Neither of them indulged her so she had to wait another ten minutes. It was at the second to last act and Nerissa almost fell off the table she was sitting on when she spotted Hercules and Iolaus step onto the stage. She shook her head.

"No...no way..."

Hercules grabbed a lyre from the pack of instruments on the stage while some cadets they recruited to help them out got on other instruments. Iolaus went to the megaphone. He tapped it quickly.

"Hi. I'm Iolaus and this is Hercules. We're, uh, gonna sing a song to...get a date, of course. And, well, Hercules is on the lyre, but he sings, too. Hope you like it, Miss Aphrodite."

Nerissa rolled her eyes as her mother smile and clapped enthusiastically. The music then started and the girl slid off the table in shock as Iolaus started to sing. She looked at Lilith and Jason who had smug expressions on their faces.

"Good isn't he?" Lilith asked.

Aphrodite was screaming and cheering like a lot of others in the room. People were dancing and swaying and Nerissa couldn't help but be pulled into the music a little herself. When the boys finished, she clapped for them. As the last act got on the stage, the two boys made their way over to their friends. They were stunned as Nerissa jumped on them, pulling them both into a simultaneous hug.

"You guys were **awesome**. Even if you guys don't win, I am just so happy you did that for me. I mean you guys were **good**."

The last guy had done a song that wasn't nearly as good as Iolaus and Hercules's song. The entire building went quiet as Aphrodite got onto stage. She snapped her fingers and suddenly Nerissa was beside her. She looked annoyed that her mother hadn't let her walk up there, but she didn't say a word.

"Thank you, boys, for all of your talents. I had a great time watching and judging. Yet I have to say...that the best act was...IOLAUS AND HERCULES!"

Cheers went up from a quarter of the cadets in the room, not including Jason, Lilith, and Kora who were practically screaming their lungs off in triumph and clapping loudly. The two boys made their way to the stage. Aphrodite turned to her daughter and the two boys once they were all on stage. She pinched Nerissa's cheek.

"Guess you have two dates. I'll see you later, sweetheart."

She gave both boys a peck on the cheek, then her daughter, and then left the building the godly way. The three left on stage exited. Adrastos looked super pissed, but he couldn't say anything since he'd lost in a competition he had requested. The group wished Kora good-bye before leaving. As they walked, Iolaus stepped up beside Nerissa.

"You know, we did this so that you won't have to go on a date with anyone."

Nerissa looked over at them in surprise. Hercules nodded in agreement.

"Really?"

"Really," they both replied in unison.

Nerissa stopped and tackled them both in a hug again. Iolaus looked like he'd left his brain this time from happiness.

"Thank you so much," she said, pulling away," But...you guys deserve it. Since you guys are my friends...I'll go on a date with the two of you tomorrow. How does that sound?"

Jason and Lilith looked stunned while Hercules and Iolaus exchanged a look. Zeus's son frowned.

"Are you sure? But you said-"

Nerissa grinned.

"I know what I said. But...how many times in a lifetime does a girl get to go on a date with two of the best guys she has ever met?"

Iolaus put a hand to his heart as they began walking again.

"I feel...kind of touched. You don't hate me!"

"Of course not. You're kind of special...in a mentally unsound kind of way, but you're a good friend. That is what matters."

Hercules smirked at her.

"You know, you're kind of philosophical."

She shrugged.

"It's from hanging out with the gods, too much, I guess."

Her tall blonde friend caught her glance at him to make sure she hadn't unsettle him, talking about how she'd met the gods, but he was starting to get used to it. He felt a little jealous every time it came up, but he wasn't about to begrudge her what she'd been through in life. She could definitely keep her overbearing mother, though Aphrodite seemed interesting enough. Alcmene seemed like the better alternative to Hercules in the end, anyway. He instead ran around in front of her and walked backwards so he could look at her.

"So, what do you want to do on this date?" he asked.

She thought for a moment before pointing a finger at him.

"Surprise me."


	5. Chapter 5

Hercules could not believe what he was hearing. He stood in the training room, arms crossed, while Iolaus looked at him with a slight smile on his face.

"Let me get this straight," he started slowly, wagging a finger at Iolaus," We stayed up for hours last night planning this date and now you say you aren't going?"

He began circling his friend suspiciously. Iolaus turned so that he was always facing the taller boy.

"I just think that I would rather go on a date with just one girl...not you **and** a girl. And I know you want to ask her about Olympus. I mean, why wouldn't you? She's more likely to tell you if you spend the whole day together **alone**. You can't say you don't want that."

Hercules stopped circling and raised an eyebrow at him.

"I just don't see you as the type to give up on a date."

"Herc, really, I want you to go alone with her."

Iolaus walked up to his friend and handed him two fishing rods he picked up off the floor. He also pulled a flower out from inside his jacket and handed that to Hercules as well.

"Show her a good time, alright?"

Hercules could only gape while the curly haired boy left the room, giving him two thumbs up. Turning toward the door, he slowly made his way outside, still a bit confused. Iolaus loved dates. He loved women. He chose to be a good friend over that? Hercules made a mental note to check his friend's temperature for a fever when they got back.

Stepping into the courtyard, he put the fishing rods down by the door and spun the flower around in his fingers. He spotted her over by the stables with the Academy horse. Going over, he wasn't surprised to find her talking to the horse. Nerissa liked to talk, but she liked quiet listeners who gave little feedback. Hercules started to wonder if she saw him more like a horse than a person. Shrugging off the thought, he was surprised to find her in an outfit fit for a date. She was wearing a lilac skirt that stopped at her knees. Her top, like most of her tops, stopped just about her stomach. She had a matching shawl slung over the post next to her.

"Ready?" he asked, handing the flower to her," You look nice, by the way."

"Oh!" she smiled, taking the flower from him," Thanks."

He smiled back, surprised that a simple flower made her smile like that. Women. Nerissa looked around confused as she put the flower in her hair.

"Where is Iolaus?"

"Apparently, he decided he didn't want to go on a date with the two of us. I was sent to go alone."

Her eyebrows shot up. Hercules understood how she felt. This was a surprising decision for Iolaus to make. Nerissa then snapped her fingers.

"I get it! He's being a good friend by leaving you alone to ask me about Olympus."

She smirked, stunning him.

"How would you-?"

"I have a spy named Lilith who told me as much. You're not getting any information from me...**unless**...hmmm."

Hercules watched as she grabbed her shawl and moved out toward the courtyard. Following, she stopped at the well and grinned up at him.

"If I deem this date good enough at the end, I'll talk about Olympus **and** your father."

"Oh, really? And, what would you consider a good enough date? Because, to be honest, I've never been on a date period."

"Then this will be a good learning experience for you. You sink or swim. So, what are your plans?"

Hercules went over and grabbed the fishing rods before turning back to her. He put a big smile on his face while Nerissa's facial expression was priceless. He lowered the rods. She wasn't impressed.

"No good?"

Nerissa walked over to him and took a rod from him.

"I feel like you are forgetting my mother came from the sea. If you want to be embarrassed, feel free. If...you think this will get me to tell you anything."

A feeling that fishing was suddenly a terrible idea invaded Hercules's brain. He took the rod away from her and put both back where he had picked them up from. Clasping his hands together in front of him, he narrowed his eyes at Nerissa, who was smirking.

"I have a feeling with information about Zeus hanging in the balance, you're going to be tough to please."

"Maaaaaaaybe. Here, maybe walking will inspire you."

She moved off and Hercules had no choice but to follow. Catching up to walk beside her as they exited the Academy grounds, he groaned.

"I don't know enough about you to know what you'd like. I can't use anything you've told me so far."

"See, that's why the competition was dumb. I knew that no matter who won, the date would either flop or it would be what the guy liked to do. It could be just a normal day of going to Kora's and wandering around. Maybe a monster can come out and attack like in those stories you told me."

Hercules gave a fake laugh.

"Oh, yeah. I'd loooove that."

Hercules felt extremely boring. His and Iolaus's date plans had hinged on the idea of fishing. Now they were walking down the street and he couldn't come up with anything to do.

"Nerissa."

She stopped and looked at him. He could tell she was somewhat amused by the tortured look on his face.

"You really know nothing about dates, huh?"

"Sorry. The girls I've liked before were...kind of special."

"Oh?"

Looking around, Nerissa suddenly grabbed Hercules's hand and pulled him into the woods. They reached a clearing just near the road with a few big rocks. Nerissa sat down on a rock, patting the spot beside her. Hercules obliged.

"Please, do tell me about these women."

Hercules laughed.

"Alright...uh, well, there was Eurydice. She liked someone else until...about the last second. And then she died. Then there is Queen Cyane of the Amazons. She's not exactly into dates, but she liked me back. And then there was kind of Nemesis, but I think it was just a "in the moment" type of deal."

It was slightly insulting because Nerissa was now laughing at him. He waited for her to calm down. When she did, she smiled and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"You poor, boy. An Amazon queen, a goddess, and a now dead girl. Tell you what, I'll lead this date then. So, when you actually find a girl, you'll know that fishing isn't the first thing you should think of."

Getting up, she took his hand again.

"Lead me to the market. I like shopping."

Hercules chuckled.

"What woman doesn't? Why did I not think of that?"

Nerissa grinned and shrugged. Hercules moved off back to the road, leading her by the hand. As they walked, the continued hand-in-hand and, for some reason, it made Hercules feel a little strange. It had been a long time since he'd held a girl's hand and they had never been going a very long way. He felt both happy and nauseous, yet the feeling was nice. He looked down at her to see that she was looking straight ahead with a relaxed expression on her face. She wasn't bothered at all by their linked fingers.

"Tell me about your past loves, now. Just so we're even," he smiled," I want to know."

Nerissa sighed.

"Ah, they were nothing special. Normal Corinthian boys who I attended school with until I started being specially taught with Jason. They all ended the same way. They got too obsessed with me and I had to let them go. Guys tend to get really territorial and jealous when they're with me. I hate it."

"I'm sorry."

"I like being single better, don't worry. It makes me feel like I'm waiting for the right person, you know? I'm a handful and taking time to find a guy who can handle everything is important."

Hercules frowned.

"How are you a handful?"

His eyebrow raised when she glanced at him before looking back in front of her. He'd stumbled into a sensitive area. He squeezed her hand.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me unless you want to."

He saw her smile slightly.

"Thank you, Hercules. I...don't want to talk about it."

They continued on in silence but it wasn't awkward at all. It was a pleasant silence. They reached the market in a short amount of time. Nerissa flitted around to all the stalls, commenting on pretty cloth colors, the vast majority being pastels. She was very finicky about jewelry, but when she mentioned she liked a pearl bracelet because it was made of real pearls, Hercules instantly bought it. She protested profusely, but he ignored her. The lady selling the jewelry gave them a decent prize, assuming that Hercules was trying to impress his date, which wasn't completely untrue. After he bought her the bracelet, she refused to go to any more venders, instead dragging him into a dance hall.

"Do you know how to dance?" she asked, after getting him inside.

"I'll let you guess."

He took the lead and pulled her onto the dance floor. The band was playing an upbeat lyre led song. Hercules could dance well enough to not embarrass himself. She laughed at his funny dance moves.

"Now I know where Jason learned it!" she exclaimed.

He got a good laugh when she would imitate him every so often. When the band started a slow song, Hercules felt a bit awkward and tried to escape the floor, but Nerissa pulled him back. It wasn't that he didn't want to dance, he was just worried about how she might react to being so close. Apparently, it didn't bother her much to have his hand on her back. The dance floor filled up so much, they had to end up even closer together. This just made the two of them quietly. Hercules wasn't used to dancing with a girl his age. He had learned to dance with farmer's wives at village parties, never with a girl his own age. He put his hands on her rather slim waist and tried to look anywhere but down at her. It was hard, considering her hands were around his neck from lack of room.

"So you can dance," she commented, getting him to look at her.

"Yeah, my mom wouldn't let me get away without learning how. Aphrodite teach you?"

Nerissa shook her head. When she did that, they were so close that Hercules could smell lilac. He couldn't help smiling. She was wearing lilac colored clothing and she had used lilac scent in her hair. He was beginning to notice little things, but these were things she liked that could come in handy later.

"When Jason was taught how to dance, I was taught as well so I could be his dance partner. A king needs to know how to dance."

"You spend a lot of time with Jason in Corinth, huh? How come you weren't there whenever we visited?"

Nerissa's eyes lowered so that she was staring at his chest. He instantly knew the answer.

"Okay, you were on Olympus, I get it."

"Once Jason started at the Academy, I got lonely a lot so my mom would pop me up there or to her temple."

The slow song ended and a lot of people left the floor. Hercules and Nerissa slipped out of the building and began walking back toward the Academy, except this time they followed the river nearby which would lead to the Academy as well.

"So, you're mom is pushy?"

Nerissa gave a fake laugh.

"To say the least. I love her, I do, but I'm a teenager. You know how you want to break away and be your own person. I feel like I'm completely defined by who my parents are. It's like being only me is too much to ask for."

"I think plain old you is great. Your father locked me and Iolaus in jail before for "attacking" the King. Everything worked out though."

Nerissa rolled her eyes.

"He's ridiculous sometimes, but a good guy. Strict...very warlike, I guess."

"Did someone mention war?"

The two teenagers looked up and saw a man dressed in all black standing in front of them. He had long black hair and clean-cut facial hair.

"Ares," they both said.

Hercules had said it with disgust while Nerissa was just surprised. Ares pointed at the girl.

"That is "Uncle" Ares, to you, Rissie."

Nerissa shuddered at the nickname. The god looked between her and Hercules.

"So, I see the two of you are close. Rissie, you really should pick better company. I'm trying to get this kid killed."

"What do you want Ares?" Hercules spat.

Ares shrugged.

"Oh, I just wanted to torture you a little since I can't kill you. Sadly, this needs to involve my niece. Sorry, sweetheart, but you need to die to help my cause."

"I what?"

Ares snapped his fingers and Nerissa disappeared. Hercules lunged at Ares, who just sent him flying with barely an ounce of his powers. The boy groaned as he got up again.

"What did you do to her?"

"You'll have to find her to know. But if you don't hurry along, your date is going to have a pretty "killer" ending."

Ares laughed and disappeared.

"Him and his damn comments. Thinks he is so funny."

Hercules took off running, following the river. He had no idea where she could be. After running for about two minutes he shouted her name. The water was picking up speed as he went farther along. He could hear the loud splashes from a waterfall up ahead. His heart jumped as he heard a high pitch scream.

"HERCULES!"

He ran as fast as he could and reached the site of the waterfall. There were boulders everywhere and he was at the top of the waterfall. Looking over, he cursed. Nerissa was hanging onto a rock, just over the edge of the waterfall right smack in the middle of the water. She was spluttering as spray was drenching her and her fingers were slipping.

"Hercules! Help! Please!"

She would try to raise herself up, but the rock was too slippery. She was going to go down at any moment. Hercules turned at the sound of a god appearing. Ares was laughing at him.

"Too bad I can't go to Tartarus for killing her, huh?"

"ARES!"

Both males turned to spot an extremely pissed off Aphrodite. Ares's smile dropped.

"Damn it."

"How **dare** you attempt to kill my daughter? Especially on a date! If you touch either of them, you'll have to deal with me for the rest of your immortal life."

Ares wrinkled his nose and left. Aphrodite turned to Hercules.

"Go get her," she said, tossing him a rope she materialized out of air.

The rope was very pink. She then disappeared. The boys shook his head.

"I don't understand gods."

He wrapped one end of the rope around his arm and then aimed toward Nerissa.

"You need to grab the rope."

"Fine. Just hurry!"

One of her hands slipped off the rock. Hercules threw the rope. She got it securely in her hand just as her other one slipped off the rock. She screamed and grabbed her lifeline with both hands. Hercules grunted as all her weight shifted onto the rope and she swung into the water. He almost topped over the edge with her, but getting good footing, he pulled her up with all the strength he had. When her hand got close enough, he reached out and easily pulled her up. The two fell onto the ground.

"Oh my gods," Nerissa whimpered.

She was shivering from the ice cold water that soaked her through. After getting his breath back, Hercules stood up.

"Come on, let's get as far away from here as we can. You need to dry off in the sun."

Nerissa was shaking so badly she couldn't get up, from the cold or her near death experience, Hercules wasn't sure. He instead picked her up and walked with her until they reached a sunny area quite a ways from the waterfall. He sat down against a tree trunk and sat his friend in front of him. Since she was still shaking, Hercules gently wrung her hair out for her. She looked up at him

"T-Thank you, Hercules. I thought I was..."

She didn't need to finish the sentence, even if she could. She was doing her best already not to burst into frightened tears. She sat holding herself in between his legs. Hercules leaned forward and pulled her against him.

"You're warm," she murmured, burying her face in his shoulder.

Her cold cheeks on his neck made his shiver, but he just rubbed her arms to try and warm her up.

"Yeah, I know. Having family like ours sucks. But, hey, at least your mom saved the day...sort of."

"She just wanted to watch you play hero. Like you always do."

Hercules couldn't help but laugh at that. He stopped though, when Nerissa suddenly looked up at him, her face inches from his.

"Zeus really likes that about you. He told me."

She had easily stunned him, both from her proximity and her words. His father...talked to her about him. Her head went back down to his shoulder.

"You win information for saving me. Zeus is so proud of you. More than he is proud of any of his other sons. Ares...he complains because you're the favorite. As far as your father is concerned, it's true. Your father told me he likes how loyal you are to your friends and how, even when you don't have to, you try to save people. He raves about all the things you've done. It irritates some of the gods, especially Ares, but he loves you so much."

It was quiet for a little while. Hercules pondered her words and she soaked in some of the sun.

"Thank you," was all he could say when he was able to speak.

Nerissa smiled into his shoulder as he gave her a hug.

"Let's go back. I think I can walk despite feeling like I'm wearing potato sacks."

Hercules watched as she pulled herself up to stand. She wobbled slightly from the extra weight of her clothes, but she waited for him to get up. Once he had, he shook his head to clear out his thoughts. He could think about what she told him later. They made their way out to the road.

"You know, I could carry you back."

"No, thanks. There will be enough questions to answer upon arriving back. We don't need to make it look even stranger than it already does."

Looking back at him, Nerissa smiled and took his hand.

"What are you going to tell them," Hercules questioned," when they ask about the date?"

"The truth. Annnd that my date was just so hot I had to cool down somehow. Right, hot stuff?"

Hercules laughed.

"Hey, you can't call me that. Take it back!"

"Not unless you catch me!"

Nerissa, despite the extra weight, took off running. Hercules couldn't help but be compelled to chase after her. After all, it made a nice ending to a good date.


	6. Chapter 6

"I am so sick of boys trying to get into the showers at the same time as us," Lilith growled as she threw her bath essentials into her box of possessions.

Nerissa rubbed at her wet hair with a towel. She glanced behind her to see Hercules, Jason, and Iolaus walk in.

"Well, at least we have three boys on our side," she smiled.

Jason moved over and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Aren't you lucky?"

Iolaus leaned against the wall while Hercules hopped up onto his bed.

"Adrastos is the one leading the guys who keep trying to sneak in. He's getting really annoyed with us," the strong boy grinned.

Lilith scowled and looked at Nerissa.

"I feel bad for you," she said," One usually thinks the pretty girls have it easy, but I never had this problem when it was just me staying here."

The long haired girl shook her head before resting it on Jason's shoulder.

"Life is so hard for me," she pouted and then pretended to cry on Jason's shoulder.

He pat her head as Iolaus moved over to them.

"Since classes are over for today, you guys feel like doing anything fun?"

Lilith sat down on her cot and grinned at him.

"Like what?"

Nerissa looked up.

"How about fishing?"

Hercules laughed, confusing the others but Nerissa just winked at him. Iolaus focused on her.

"Well, if you want to, why not? Sounds fun, right?"

There was a murmur of assent. Jason and Iolaus elected to go get the fishing rods while Lilith said she'd find some buckets for them to use. Hercules hopped off his bed and moved over to Nerissa as they made their way out of the building. He leaned close to her ear.

"You're not allowed near any waterfalls," he informed her.

Her face went pale.

"I'm okay with that."

They met the others outside where Iolaus and Jason handed out fishing rods and Lilith gave the boys the buckets. They then followed Iolaus to a lake he knew was nearby. Their conversation was light hearted and joking, yet Nerissa couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. She glanced back so often that Hercules slipped back to her and whispered at her.

"What's up?"

She looked up at the tall male. Looking back again, she stopped. She could have sworn she saw a patch of black, but it was gone now.

"I...think we're being followed. I just...feel strange."

Hercules looked around, but didn't see anything. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The others had kept walking without noticing them. He nodded at their group of friends, urging her forward.

"You're probably just feeling anxious because of Ares attacking last time."

"I guess..."

When they reached the lake, they instantly set up the four buckets they had between each other. Right from the start, Nerissa began reeling in huge fish upon huge fish. Iolaus and Jason took this as a challenge and began to get really competitive. Hercules and Lilith just laughed.

"How are you doing that?" Iolaus asked when Nerissa had nabbed her thirteenth fish.

She smiled and put her fishing rod down for a break so other could have a chance to fish better.

"Well, my mother rose out of the ocean and I happen to be favored by Poseidon. He's like...the best pseudo grandpa. Him and Zeus were always arguing about who gave me the better gifts."

All of her friends were staring at her in astonishment. Nerissa looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"I don't...know why I brought that up..."

There was a loud sound from behind them, so they all turned. A really strange guy was standing there. he was wearing a completely black outfit with pins all over it. He was a very pale white with really messy black hair. He had a bit of a crazed expression as he laughed very squeakily.

"What's wrong with talking about gods, beautiful?"

Nerissa's face was completely confused as others scrambled to their feet. They all looked ready to punch him.

"Strife! What are you doing here?"

The female demigod got up slowly.

"Strife? That doesn't sound good..."

"That's because it's not," Iolaus informed her," He's always trying to help his uncle Ares destroy Herc."

Nerissa turned to Strife with her eyes narrowed.

"A nephew of Ares?"

Strife gave her a sickening smile.

"Not the best way to be introduced. Hehe. I mostly followed because of the pretty girl with you. I don't think you'll mind if I take her with me? Some personal time alone would be nice."

Jason and Hercules stepped together, moving in front of Nerissa and blocking her from view.

"Not happening," Jason growled.

Strife narrowed his eyes at them.

"Maybe not today. But I'll get her. But for now..."

He suddenly sent Hercules flying into the lake with a blast of his power. He laughed strangely as his victim yelled and splashed into the lake.

"Oooh, the monster down there probably won't like someone being that far into its territory. Oh well! I didn't kill the demigod. I just gave him a push."

He blew a kiss at Nerissa, making her gag, before disappearing. Lilith, Iolaus, Jason, and Nerissa all ran to the edge of the lake.

"What do we do? I can't swim," Iolaus shouted," I really need to learn."

They watched as Hercules surfaced for a second before being pulled back under the water. He didn't come up again. Jason pulled off his vest, prepared to go in, but Nerissa stopped him.

"Let me."

She sent a quick prayer out to Poseidon despite their presence at a body of fresh water before running in and diving. The water was so dark and hard to see through. She kept swimming though, praying that she was getting closer to Hercules. Suddenly the water around her became bright. Her own skin was glowing and she could suddenly breath under the water. She sent a silent thank you to Poseidon, swearing to place an offering at his nearest temple as soon as she could. She found him quickly with an giant, grubby sea monster's hand wrapped around his leg. He was still holding his breath. Nerissa reached him just as he couldn't hold it anymore. Kicking at the sea monsters hand, it let go and gave a watery scream at the sight of the glowing girl. Grabbing the unconscious Hercules, she uneasily swam up to the surface. When she breached the top of the water, she stopped glowing and assumed she could only breath air. Using all the strength she had, she swam the moderately heavy boy to the shore. Jason and Iolaus grabbed him and pulled him away from her.

"He's not breathing," Lilith announced, panicking.

Nerissa wobbled as she crawled over to him, but she took a deep breath and looked at Jason.

"Push down on his chest, I'm going to try and get air back into his lungs."

Jason didn't question her and instantly knelt down beside his friend. Nerissa had forced them to practice this when Jason told her they had a lesson on it at the Academy before she had attended. For once, he was grateful she had been so pushy about learning. Closing his nose off, she opened his mouth and blew air into it. She had to do this about three times and on the third Hercules gasped. She pulled away just as he began coughing up the water. Jason let him go and Hercules turned over to expel the water and take deep, life sustaining breaths. Nerissa lay down on the gravel trying to breath normally again. Exhaustion was taking over her body which was now beginning to ache. She had dove into the water during an adrenaline rush, pulled a male much heavier than herself to shore, and then made him breathe again. Hearing Hercules breathing normally, she got up enough to join the others in checking to see if he was okay.

"I'm alright, you guys, thanks. Nerissa, you-"

She waved away his comment.

"I owed you one, don't worry about it."

"No. You kissed me! Your kisses save lives, you never told me about that!"

Everyone was silent for a second before Hercules started smirked and Nerissa tackled him and pretended to beat him up. Iolaus, Jason, and Lilith laughed at the two of them as it turned into an actual wrestling match, which Hercules easily won. Happy that no one was dead, they packed up the fish they caught and headed back to Cheiron's Academy. That night, they were able to have fish for dinner. Though neither demigod mentioned it to anyone else, they were both keeping a sharp eye out for Strife, who they were sure would come back. And next time, it wouldn't be to kill Hercules.


	7. Chapter 7

Once again, Iolaus was sneaking toward Fiducius's office to try and get a peak at test answers. It was close to dawn, meaning there were only a couple more hours for him to get his goal. He was being very careful not to make any noises. He was almost there when he heard a noise in the classroom. Panicking for a second, the sneak moved behind a pillar. He strained his ears, but he didn't hear another sound. Inching around the pillar, he tiptoed over to the door and opened it a crack. He sighed in relief as he spotted Nerissa sitting on a desk.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked her, walking into the room.

Nerissa flipped her hair over one shoulder and leaned back a little in a stretch.

"I saw that you had snuck out so I dressed, went around the other side of the building, and got here before you."

Iolaus sighed and rubbed his shoulder.

"Look, I just don't want to fail and get kicked ou-"

He went silent as his friend put a finger to her lips before motioning him over to her. He frowned, but went over to her, worried she heard something. She prompted him with her finger to lean a little closer to her. When he did, he shivered as she whispered in his ear.

"I don't actually care about that. I followed you for another reason."

"O-oh? What's that?"

"I actually like you, Iolaus."

Iolaus was speechless as her arms snaked around his neck and her lips pressed themselves against his eagerly. His eyes shot wide open before they slowly closed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She was pressing herself closer to him just as the classroom door opened. The two stopped and looked over at the door to see an astonished Hercules standing there. Iolaus pulled away from Nerissa and looked sheepishly at his friend.

"H-Herc! Hey, did you come after me, too?"

The shocked teenager looked between two of his best friends, trying to believe what he had seen.

"Yeah, uh...are you two...?"

"No! It just...kind of happened. Apparently Nerissa likes me..."

Hercules looked at the girl, who was smirking at him. She nodded in agreement.

"He's adorable."

Iolaus giggled before clearing his throat and looking ashamed. He went over to his friend, both of them turning away from the female in the room.

"Are you mad, Herc? I wasn't sure if you started liking her, too. I wouldn't-"

Putting his hands up, Hercules shook his head.

"I just thought she didn't want to date anyone, so I'm lost. Nerissa, didn't you-"

They both turned, but they found the classroom completely empty. They shared a confused expression before looking around one more time. She was obviously not there. Iolaus made a move to talk again, but Hercules just put his hand up.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow. For now, you need to get back to bed before you get in trouble. Forget stealing test answers. And...let's not mention this to Jason. Lucky for Lilith she is visiting her home this week..."

Iolaus grumbled, but was feeling like the night had been awarded well enough without test answers. After reaching the bed chambers, the boys were stunned to find Nerissa fast asleep already. Without saying anything at all, they moved to their separate bedrolls.

In the afternoon during training, Hercules took Nerissa aside. The entire day she had acted as if nothing happened. Iolaus felt awkward, but was keeping close to the girl. She keep moving away from him and trying to figure out why Hercules was looking at her weird, but he had told her that he wanted to focus on their classes. Now that those were over and training was going on, he figured talking would be okay.

"About last night..." Hercules began," I think it is great that you like Iolaus, but...sneaking out in the middle of the night is a little too much. And I thought you were here to train only."

Nerissa's eyebrows raised.

"Who likes Iolaus?"

Hercules narrowed his eyes at her.

"You. I saw the two of you kissing in the classroom last night and-"

He stopped because her face was surprisingly disgusted. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay? I was sleeping all last night. And, so you know, I have stuck to my desire of only being a warrior with no dates. Iolaus would not be my first pick anyway if I decided to change my plans. Are you sure the two of you saw me? Not a trick of the light? Or maybe you saw a goddess? Something..."

"And what goddess would make out with Iolaus?"

"What **girl** would make out with Iolaus?"

"It was you."

That statement came from neither of them. They hadn't noticed that Iolaus had been eavesdropping. They both turned to him. He smiled at her.

"Come on, you can't deny it now! It happened. Maybe you thought you were dreaming. I'll remind you."

Iolaus leaned in to kiss her only got a smack to the face. Nerissa looked between the two boys in disgust.

"I don't know what the two of you are doing or if this is some kind of sick joke, but quit it now."

She then stormed off to work with Jason. Iolaus rubbed his jaw while they both stared at her in confusion.

"I don't get it," Iolaus complained, before grabbing a rope and beginning to climb.

Hercules stood still, thinking to himself. He was sure it was her. The fact that she was denying the whole thing made no sense to him. Choosing not to let it bother him, he grabbed a ladder and began climbing.

The boys let it go and decided not to question anything, but that night Hercules was walking back from the stables where he had been brushing down the Academy horse to hear a sound from the training hall. Peeking in, he was once again taken aback. Jason was pressed up against the wall while Nerissa kissed him. While he stood not saying a word, Jason pushed the girl away.

"No, this can't happen. We're just friends."

"But I really like you, Jason...we've been friends for so long..."

Hercules cleared his throat loudly as Nerissa leaned in to kiss his friend. He raised his shoulders in a frozen shrug at them.

"What is going on?"

Just then Iolaus came in humming happily from the other side of the room. He stood stock still, taking in the position of Jason and Nerissa before looking only at Nerissa.

"How could you? You said you liked me!"

The girl moved away from Jason and disappeared by running past Hercules. He turned to chase after her. Reaching the first corner, he found her gone. Soon, Jason and Iolaus were right behind him.

"She probably went back to the bed chambers," Jason said.

"I want some answers," Iolaus added.

The three boys dashed into the bed chambers to find Nerissa reading in her bedroll. She looked up and smiled at the three of them.

"Hey, guys...You all look angry, what happened?"

Iolaus pointed at her.

"That's not nice. Stop acting like nothing happened. First you say you like me, then you go and kiss Jason. Last night you kissed me and then about an hour ago you cornered me in the courtyard the same way!"

Jason shook his head and folded his arms.

"Nerissa, I never expected you to do something like this. At least own up to what you've done. You can't just screw around with guys. We have feelings. You've apparently kissed Iolaus twice and now you went after me. Who else have you gone after? Is Hercules your next target?"

The girls face clouded over. She set down her book and stood up.

"I'm being honest with you when I say I have no idea about this. I was reading in here since training let out. Let me just figure out what is going on and you'll see-"

"See that you're a liar?"

Everyone turned to Hercules in surprise. Nerissa gaped at him.

"I swear I-"

"You said you didn't want to focus on any guys and now you're lying to us. We all saw what you've done! And I thought we were all friends here."

The girl looked ready to punch him.

"YOU ARE! Unless you actually believe I would do something like this! I would never ruin my time here over doing something so...so disgusting. If I liked **any** one of you, I would pick one and stick to it. I would never twist you guys around like this. Don't punish me for something I didn't do!"

She suddenly froze and looked away. She mumbled to herself a little. Suddenly, she began walking out of the room after grabbing a bag of hers. The boys all looked at each other. Jason and Iolaus scoffed and let her go, but Hercules followed her out. She made it to the courtyard before he stopped her.

"You keep running away from your mistakes, Nerissa. You're acting like a completely different person! I never knew you were so...promiscuous."

The girl suddenly turned on her heels and glared at Hercules.

"What did you just say?"

"Look, I just think-"

"No, you are not even thinking about how I feel about this. You're not listening, Hercules. I'm trying to tell you that something fishy is going on, okay? A friend would listen to me."

"I am your friend! And I'm trying to help!"

Nerissa groaned and looked up at him. She stared straight into his eyes.

"As my friend, you seriously believe that I would want to date both Jason and Iolaus, not just **ever**, but at the same time. Not only that, but doing it so obviously that they found out within a day that I was interested in someone else?"

Hercules couldn't say anything. Nerissa looked down at the dirt underneath their feet. Digging in her bag, she pulled out a quill, ink, and paper. She jotted down something quickly, before packing up her bag again. She shoved the paper at him and glared.

"A friend would trust me. I guess we're not friends, Hercules. I can't stand to look at you anymore."

She shoved the piece of paper at him before turning away.

"You're not as nice of a guy as you think."

He could only watch as she stormed away and disappeared out of the Academy gates. He did not know where she was going or doing. Hercules felt horrible. Something in his gut told him there was a problem. Looking down at the paper, he read it quickly before tearing it up and dropping it in the wind. Now he felt even worse.

"I'm sorry," he whispered before trudging inside.


	8. Chapter 8

It was around midnight when Hercules leaned against the well in front of the Academy. The stars were abundant and brightly sparkled in the sky. It had been thirty minutes of him standing out there when there was a shuffling of dirt making him turn his attention to the front gate. Nerissa walked toward him in the darkness. Her eyes were trained on him as she moved over to the well and stood in front of him. She looked up at him sheepishly.

"So you all hate me?" she asked, seriously.

Hercules nodded slowly, seeming to contemplate her words.

"Iolaus and Jason sure do. I on the other hand...I don't hate you. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I know you would never do anything like that. You're too nice and, as a daughter of Aphrodite, you know that you shouldn't mess around with the feelings of others."

The girl frowned up at him before taking her bag off of her shoulder and putting it on the ground.

"Let me tell you a secret, Hercules."

"What's that?"

"I really did kiss both Jason and Iolaus. It was me. I lied earlier because I was embarrassed about you all finding out, but...I didn't tell you the real reason why I kissed both of them."

Hercules smirked and folded his arms across his chest.

"Okay, I'm listening."

Nerissa leaned close to him, their faces inches apart.

"I knew I had feelings for someone out of the three of you, but I couldn't pick. I told each of them I liked them to spare their feelings, but...after I left...I figured out who I really want."

"And that would be?"

"You, Hercules."

Nerissa gently put her hands on his shoulders. She leaned in to kiss him just as Iolaus, Jason, and **Nerissa** popped out from the low wall beside the stable.

"Caught you!" Jason shouted.

Hercules grabbed the fake Nerissa, who hissed angrily, and pulled her hands behind her back. He tied a rope that was on the side of the well around her wrists. The three friends ran around and met up with Hercules. Stepping forward, Nerissa looked in her copy's face.

"Alecto, right? I assume you would have saved yourself to go after Hercules. Why are you and your sisters here? Make them come here."

The Nerissa scowled and changed into a blonde woman with a red skimpy outfit that looked made out of strips of cloth. Two other women appeared in the same dress beside her. One had dark brown hair and the other had light brown hair. Hercules still had a hold on Alecto so that she couldn't get help.

"Let me guess," Nerissa went on," Megaera messed with Iolaus and Tisiphone played with Jason."

There was no reaction from them so it was assumed that she was correct. She began to circle the goddesses of punishment.

"Now...why are the three of you trying to mess up my friendship with these boys? I don't believe I have done anything worth punishing."

Alecto scoffed.

"Don't lie to us. We know all about your little game. You lure men in with your beauty and cause problems wherever you go. Discord told us all about the men you've ruined!"

Nerissa's eyebrows shot up.

"Discord? I should have known. Megaera, you may understand this best. Little miss pain in my butt goddess is supremely jealous of me. She hates me, Alecto this is your area, with a burning passion. Now, did she tell you that I have been avoiding dating and attracting men to me for a couple years now. The most punishment my beauty causes is to my own self."

The three girls hissed in anger.

"Discord tricked us?"

"She would wouldn't she?"

"She thinks she is better than all the other goddesses!"

Alecto narrowed her eyes at Nerissa who looked back at her unafraid.

"You wouldn't lie to us. We know you...you're far too honest for that. We'll worry about Discord, but know that she'll be after you still. And if you ever do something to feel our wrath...we'll make sure to drive you crazy..."

Nerissa nodded and moved over to Alecto. Pushing Hercules away a bit, she untied the ropes and The Furies disappeared. The three boys all looked at their female friend before they all tackled her in a hug at the same time.

"We love you!" Iolaus cried.

"I'm so sorry we doubted you," Jason said.

"Okay! I forgive you, just please get off! And never, ever try to kiss me. Iolaus, I'm talking to you."

They all let her go and with a wave, Jason and Iolaus began walking away. Nerissa was about to follow them when Hercules held her back.

"Nerissa, please wait. I-"

"Don't, Hercules. Yes, I was hurt by what you said, but...I know you meant the apology you gave Alecto. You'll trust me from now on, right? Anyway, if you hadn't have followed the instructions on the note by getting the guys out here, you all might still think I'm a some sort of-"

Hercules clamped a hand to her mouth.

"I don't want to hear what you think of actions like that. It's late and I've seen enough scaring images without watching you curse."

Nerissa smiled and gave him a tight hug.

"You're a good friend, Hercules. Don't get mad just because they picked you for last to confuse."

Hercules scoffed as she let him go.

"Are you insinuating that I was jealous?"

The girl rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him.

"Of course you were and I completely understand. I'm gorgeous and how could you not wonder why I would go after Iolaus and Jason and not you! It is only natural, of course!"

She stopped talking when she noticed Hercules looking at the ground sheepishly. Her jaw dropped slightly before she stuck her head in his line of vision, making him look at her.

"Seriously?" she asked surprised.

Hercules gave a light chuckle.

"Well...yeah. I know that's stupid now that I know they didn't actually kiss **you**, but...at the time I really did feel...kind of bad. Knowing the truth, though, I am pretty relieved."

Nerissa took his hand and tugged him toward the Academy.

"Don't worry. If I ever decide to go around kissing as many males as I can, I'll kiss you first. Deal?"

He smirked and let her pull him inside.

"Deal."


	9. Chapter 9

The first long weekend break the group got came close to a month after Nerissa's arrival at the Academy. Since Jason had to take a trip home that weekend to get in some more classes on being king, his entire group of friends decided to go with him. Nerissa had not been so keen on returning to Corinth so soon, but after the begging and pleading and puppy eyes from her four friends, she agreed to go.

Halfway to Corinth, the boys had begged to stop as they had found a melon field and decided to play some melon ball. Nerissa opted out, making Lilith do the same. As the female demigod rested against a tree beside all of their things, Lilith plopped down cross-legged in front of her. The two smiled at each other.

"Something on your mind?" Nerissa asked, smoothing down her leather skirt.

Lilith glanced back at the boys before leaned toward Nerissa.

"How do you be a good girlfriend?"

Her friend's eyebrows shot up, causing the short haired girl to blush.

"Are we whispering about this because you don't want the boys to know you have a boyfriend or because that someone is one of them?"

The pout that fell onto Lilith's face was all the answer she needed. With a laugh, she folded her arms across her chest.

"Which one?"

Lilith got a sneaky smirk on her face, which confused Nerissa.

"Don't worry, it isn't Hercules..."

Nerissa's jaw dropped before she smacked Lilith on the shoulder.

"I don't like Hercules like that!" she protested as Lilith laughed.

"I know, but Hercules has this thing about him. Like...he might like you, but you don't like him, but later you will and everything will be okay. That's how it always works out for Hercules."

Rolling her eyes, the other girl pointed at her friend, then at the boys.

"You're distracting me. Tell me which one. Iolaus or Jason?"

Lilith hid her face in her hands.

"Jason."

Nerissa squealed girlishly. Lilith hurriedly hushed her and they both looked over to see if the boys at noticed. That hadn't. Sighing with relief, they looked at each other.

"It isn't like I want to be queen though and people would flip out if they knew, so we're keeping it secret from everyone. I just wanted to tell you because I trust you and...well...you're the daughter of the goddess of love. You know things."

"Lilith," Nerissa started, shaking her head," The only thing I can tell you is to be yourself. That's how to be a good girlfriend. He likes you for you, right? So...you be you. Simple."

The smaller girl frowned.

"That wasn't helpful."

Nerissa grinned and shrugged.

"I speak truth!"

"About what?"

The two girls looked up to see Hercules smirking down at them. Lilith looked between Hercules and Nerissa quickly.

"Uhhh...well, she says you only see her as a friend, but I know that you're totally interested in dating her."

The tall male squinted his eyes at Lilith before leaning down and flicking her on the forehead. The girl protested and rubbed at her face.

"You just like to start trouble."

"I second that!" Nerissa chimed, smiling at Hercules as he picked up his bag," Game over?"

"Yeah."

Iolaus and Jason could be seen making their way over, the obvious losers of the impromptu game. Nerissa gave them both a pearly smile as they grabbed their bags.

"Such a short game. Are you boys that bad?"

Hercules laughed quietly to himself as the boys grumbled about bad catching, bad throwing, and just overall bad luck. Apparently their melon shattered, too. The girls joined in Hercules's mirth as they restarted their trek to Corinth.

It was evening by the time they arrived at their destination. Iolaus, Lilith, and Hercules were surprised by how many people waved or respectfully greeted Nerissa along with Jason. Making it up to the castle, the group was met by Jason's tutor, Ophistus, and Balian. Nerissa visually froze at the sight of her father. While Jason was busy giving Ophistus a hug, Balian just turned away from his daughter to greet the Crown Prince instead. The girl's face fell, making the friends observing her feel bad. Hercules in particular felt less bad and more mad. Balian clasped Jason's arm and smiled.

"Good to see you again, Prince Jason," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the entrance hall," Bringing my daughter back so soon?"

Nerissa gave a pained yet sarcastic smile.

"I am just visiting for the long weekend...Father."

Balian sniffed at his daughter.

"Are you sure the life of a warrior just isn't too difficult for you? Maybe you should just stay in Corinth and train to be Queen."

Everyone in the area looked at the girl to see her reaction. For Iolaus, Hercules, and Lilith the expressions were mostly of surprise. The long haired girl stared down at the red carpeting beneath her feet.

"I told you that I could never do that. I **will** be a warrior, no matter what you think."

The disbelief on Balian's face was obvious, but he said nothing else before walking away, pausing only to nod to Jason and Nerissa's friends. The hall was awkwardly silent after his exit, but Ophistus broke it by clearing his throat.

"Dinner for the group of you will be in the throne room in an hour. That will give you all time to settle in."

He bowed to the group of them before leaving the hall as well. Jason looked back at Nerissa and let out a long sigh, his eyebrows raised.

"That was better than usual."

The girl swatted the air with an irritated wave.

"That's because the audience was larger. I'll lead you guys to the guest rooms since mine are there. See you at dinner, Jas."

As the four moved away from the future ruler of Corinth, Iolaus put a hand in Nerissa's shoulder.

"Queen of Corinth?"

The girl growled in irritation.

"My father was only ever nice to me before I turned ten because he hoped I would train to be Queen someday and marry Jason. Sadly for him, I realized I did not want to marry Jason and that I wanted to be a warrior like him and like Jason would someday be. He was angry, but mother came to my rescue and told him that no daughter of hers could be forced into a marriage without love. He gave up, but has doubted and resented me ever since that day. Most of our confrontations end in my shouting and him threatening to disown me. The man has practically already done that anyway..."

Lilith put a hand on her friend's shoulder

"I'm so sorry," she said, softly.

Nerissa smiled at her.

"Me, too."

A few seconds later she stopped in the middle of a long hallway with rows and rows of doors. It was obvious that there were more than enough rooms for everyone to have their own. Nerissa pointed to the door on her left.

"This room is mine, with the blue banner on the door. Lilith, yours is green, Iolaus gets red, and Hercules has purple. Each room has a double bed with a canopy over it."

Iolaus cheered and dashed into his respective room, which was across the hall from Nerissa's. Lilith smiled and went into hers, which was the room on the left of the other girl, while Hercules just dropped his bag in his room to the right of Nerissa's before following her into her room. The room was obviously owned as it was covered in items accumulated over the years. Training weapons hung on the walls while a half open chest of clothes sat at the end of her canopy bed. A child's wooden rocking horse sat gathering cobwebs in an abandoned corner. A worn-down doll stood on an end table, watching Nerissa as she threw her bag on the chest of clothes, closing the lid. The girl moved over to the end table and picked up the doll, which had hidden a small vase of flowers that were obviously replaced despite the room's owner being absent most of the time.

Hercules heard Nerissa sigh before she looked up at him.

"This is little Rissie. My first female friend. My father gave her to me some time before I have my first memories. She is kind of the reason why I hate the nickname, but I love her."

She delicately placed the doll back on the table as Hercules came over. He sat down hesitantly on her bed to her left as her head drooped forward so that she was staring at her lap.

"From what I know of your father, he doesn't give people much of a chance. As his daughter, he should listen to you more. You have a right to be who you want to be."

Nerissa scoffed and gave him a wry smile.

"No one listens to me in my family. Haven't you noticed? My mother cares about me and I know that, but as a goddess things have to be her way. You're so lucky to have your mother, Hercules. She loves you, listens to you, and acts like a mother. You've told me that much."

Hercules smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I **am **lucky. You should meet her sometime."

Nerissa smiled up at him. He was only slightly surprised when her hand took his and squeezed it.

"I would like that."

The young male was alarmed as a few tears slowly trickled down his friend's face. Of all the crying women he had encountered in his life, he never felt his heart hurt more than when Nerissa cried in this moment. He could only compare her tears to the time she had cried after almost dying, but her fear seemed more justified than the tears of loneliness he was currently witnessing. Her sobs were barely audible and she did not scrunch up her face. Her eyes only closed every now and then as the tears flowed from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed, turning away from him.

Without a word, Hercules moved up against her and gently tugged her to lean back so that her head rested on his left shoulder. His left hand kept her from falling across his lap by holding her arm while his right hand stroked her hair. Once again the smell of lilac reached his nose, causing him to lean into her hair slightly, his nose brushing the side of her forehead.

"He really gets to you, hm?"

His warm breath against her face made her sigh.

"Every time."

They said nothing more for a few minutes. Nerissa leaned against his chest. Something about Hercules felt natural and safe. She could now see what Lilith meant about girls falling for him. He didn't have to try to be liked. He just was because of who he is. Kind, honest, easy to be around, and incredibly comforting. He could make any girl feel safe and protected. Yet Nerissa knew better than anything else that having a friend like him, when you're a girl, is dangerous. His natural genuineness could pull a girl in. He was getting to her through his attentiveness, his listening skills, and by always being there. He was the type of friend she had been searching for all her life. Though she was prepared to fight someone so alluring, Nerissa let herself relax and be comforted. Because he was Hercules, one of her best friends. Sending a silent prayer up to her mother, Nerissa wished that if she was to ever fall in love, that it be someone like Hercules, but not until after she was acknowledged as a warrior.

Eventually, Nerissa sat back up on her own. She turned and smiled at Hercules.

"Thank you for always being there."

He shrugged and grinned.

"Anytime."

He was easily shooed out of the room to dress for dinner. After pulling on a dress, Nerissa went into the next room over to force Lilith into something similar.


	10. Chapter 10

Lilith's attitude toward wearing a dress relaxed only after she saw the smiles it put on her male friends faces. Nerissa had shoved the girl into a pretty white dress that was very silky and incredibly similar to the purple dress she had put on herself. Iolaus did not fail to compliment them as they took their seats. Jason was at the head of the table, of course. Though Nerissa usually sat to the Prince's right, she gave the seat to Lilith and took the seat beside Iolaus who was to Jason's left. Hercules winked at her from across the table, making her giggle softly.

"Feeling better?" he mouthed to her.

She just nodded her answer.

Ophistus shuffled into the room behind the servants pushing their dinners in on metal carts. Jason sighed when he saw his tutor.

"Alerting me to my over-packed break schedule before I eat will only make me sick," the young man groaned.

The older man remained unfazed as he moved over to stand next to the Prince's chair.

"The ball scheduled for tomorrow night-"

"When did this come up?"

"It was scheduled last month, Prince Jason. I sent a letter-"

"I never got it."

"You must stay throughout the entire duration of the ball."

"But-"

"Your friends are invited."

Jason stopped arguing at that statement and smiled around at the group. Lilith and Iolaus started grinning. Hercules looked pleased as well, but refrained from giving a reaction as Nerissa took the news as if it were nothing. She was obviously used to events popping up at random when in Corinth.

The servants finished placing dinner on the table as Jason turned to look up at Ophistus.

"Well, if they are going, fine. I'll stay, but do I need to have a date?"

"Why not?" Ophistus asked, furrowing his eyebrows," Don't you want to go with Lady Nerissa. The two of you have always made such a great pair!"

Nerissa let out a light laugh.

"Yeah. Great. Like when we _accidentally_ set that cake on fire."

Jason laughed loudly.

"Or _accidentally_ shot an arrow through the roasted pig!" he added.

"And when we _accidentally_ got Jason's father stuck in a helmet meant for Ophistus- I mean..."

The teenagers all laughed while the tutor narrowed his eyes at Nerissa's admission. Her rubbed his chin in thought.

"Now that I think about it, the two of you _did_ kick a melon into a salad, covering all the guests nearby at one conference."

Nerissa and Jason shared a mischievous, yet joyous look before shouting in unison:

"MELON BALL, Salad Style!"

Their friend laughed while Ophistus just sighed.

"Maybe the two of you should attended with different individuals. And please try not to ruin this ball..."

Lilith looked between Jason and Nerissa.

"Why do you both have to have a partner?"

"Well," Nerissa started, taking the question," As ruler of Corinth, it makes Jason look good to have a date. For me, if I attend without an obvious date, I have to spend the entire event trying to avoid men. And they get pretty persistent. When I've attended with Jason, no one dared approach me on an intimate level."

Those in the room nodded in understanding before Jason looked over at Lilith.

"So, will you help me out once more, Lilith? After the time you pretended to be my wife, this should be fun, huh? And no strings attached!"

The short blonde smiled and nodded.

"Sure."

Nerissa appeared to be the only person to notice the slight blush on Lilith's face. Smiling, the young woman looked between Iolaus and Hercules.

"Who wants to be my date? Either of you? It'll be a bit of work..."

Iolaus shook his head.

"As much as I would love to, I can't pass up a chance to find a royal beauty for my own. Besides, I'm on a break. I don't want to work."

He didn't notice the amused expressions that lit up the faces of all in the room at the idea of him flirting with women way beyond his league. Hercules smiled at Nerissa. The girl blushed slightly, feeling the warning signs of his attractiveness. Yet, she had no choice but to go along with the charming smile on his face.

"I'll go with you. I'm willing to put in a little work to keep you happy."

Lilith made a suggestive noise in her throat and wiggled her eyebrows at Nerissa, but she received a bread roll to the middle of the forehead and a pinch on the arm in response. Ophistus nodded, now knowing how things would work out for tomorrow.

"I will hold a dancing lesson in the afternoon tomorrow to prepare-"

"We know how to dance!" all four attending told him.

The man just sniffed in reply and left them to eat their dinner. After a moderately rowdy, yet completely enjoyable meal, the group parted ways to sleep.

The group had slept in late and lazed around for most of the next day until they had to get ready for the ball. Nerissa had found a new dress from her mother on her be after lunch. It was a vibrant pink made of satin. The sleeves were just pink see-though fabric that attached to cold wristbands. All the princesses were wearing similar dresses recent. Pink slippers waited by the edge of her bed, matching the dress by one hundred percent. After putting on the new outfit, she met Hercules outside her room. He was cleaned up, his hair still slightly wet from a bath, and was in his normal clothes. Nerissa grinned at the thought of her mother cringing at the idea of her daughter's date wearing clothes he always wore. The thought please the girl very much. She caught Hercules assessing her outfit. She tilted her head questioningly.

"Is something wrong with the dress?"

"No, the color just reminds me of my mother."

The girl bit her lip.

"Is that...bad?"

Hercules eyebrows shot up.

"No! It's nothing like that. You look...uh...incredible."

Nerissa rolled her eyes and laughed. Reaching out, she grabbed her date's hand and they began walking toward the throne room. Stepping beside him, she clung to his muscular arm. It was very warm.

"So, how am I supposed to act exactly?" Hercules asked, glancing down at her.

"All you need to do is act like I'm the love of your life and pretend that you'll beat up any guy who touches me. Plain and simple."

The tall blonde nodded and smirked at her.

"How do I act like I'm in love with you? Should I kiss you?"

He jokingly leaned down and kissed her cheek. Her face erupted in heat, something that caused him some slight satisfaction.

"T-That should be enough."

Her friend just laughed at her reaction. His amusement blended into the sounds coming from the throne room as they entered the hallway. Nerissa jumped and yelped as a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned and almost strangled Iolaus, who was the culprit.

"Relax!" he told her, blocking a punch to his abdomen," It's just me. I am just _so_ ready to party. Have you seen all the pretty royal ladies? I mean...wow."

Nerissa exchanged a look with Hercules, both grinning. Hercules leaned in front of Nerissa to grab his best male friend and shove him toward the awaiting party.

"Well get in there and get those girls!"

Iolaus nodded and saluted the two of them. They followed him into the moderately packed party. There were people everywhere and a banquet table sat off to the right side of the room. It had an innumerable amount of food on it. Nerissa led Hercules toward Jason and Lilith, who were talking to some rulers near the throne. As they made their way over, they were stopped by a young man in royal blue robes with pitch black hair that fell into his eyes. He bowed to Nerissa, ignoring Hercules.

"Lady Nerissa, I am Pavlos. Son of the King of Athens. Might I have the honor of-"

"No, thank you," Nerissa interrupted," My date, Hercules, and I are trying to get to our friends."

"I would just like a moment of your time."

Pavlos reached out to grasp Nerissa's hand, but was unable to as Hercules moved her away from him.

"Maybe another day," Hercules told him, giving him a heavy and almost painful pat on the shoulder.

They moved away from him. They were stopped by at least three other men before the guests began to understand that she was with someone. Reaching their destination, Nerissa grabbed Lilith's arm. The short haired girl smiled at her.

"I know," she said, patting her friend's shoulder," I saw all those boys. Lucky Hercules is here for you."

Nerissa agreed and leaned toward Lilith's ear.

"Go get Jason to dance. He prefers that to greeting everyone."

The shorter girl gave her a thumbs up before snagging her date away from his guests and pulling him onto the dance area. Nerissa looked over at Hercules and held out her hand to him. He took it and kissed it, making a few guys in the room watching them groan from jealousy.

"Shall we dance?" he asked.

"Indeed."They danced for a long time, preferring the company of each other than the company of others. Every now and then they spotted Iolaus getting ignored by a girl. Jason and Lilith stuck near them until Ophistus forced them to meet a few people. After getting too tired to keep dancing, Nerissa waited by the throne as Hercules got drinks. While she watched the guests mingle with each other, she felt a finger tap her shoulder. She turned to see a young man with brown hair and piercing blue/green eyes. He bowed to her.

"Lady Nerissa, correct?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I am sorry, but if you are here to ask for a dance, I am rather exhausted. My date-"

The male smiled strangely, causing Nerissa's internal warning signs to go off, her sentence dying. She backed away from him slightly, her hand landing on the arm of the throne.

"Hercules. Yes, you both seem very...close. He is very protective of you, is he not?"

Nerissa swallowed hard, glancing around the room trying to spot Hercules. She couldn't see him.

"I...suppose? I haven't really known him very long or anything...Just a month."

"That is good enough for me."

Nerissa leapt away from him as he lunged for her, but he caught her wrist and pulled her against him. She was about to ram her elbow into his side, but he pulled a dagger on her. Turning her back toward him, he pressed the dagger to her throat and tied her hands together with his free hand. She tried to struggled, but he uncharacteristically strong for a mortal. Almost as strong as Hercules. She grimaced, feeling the cold metal against her throat. The man's breath went down her neck, making her shudder.

"Don't make me kill you sooner than is necessary," he hissed to her.

Guests nearby were alarmed and were pointing and whispering.

"LUCIUS!"

Nerissa's eyes snapped to her left where Hercules stood, glaring at the man behind her. His fists were clenched and he looked prepared to spring. Jason was beside him, looking incredibly disgusted. Iolaus could be seen whispering to Ophistus, who slipped out of the room. Nerissa assumed it was to get the guards. The man, Lucius, laughed. The sound was high and maniacal.

"Hello, little brother. Had you forgotten about me? Too bad, because now your girlfriend will have to suffer for it."

He tugged on her and she had no choice but to move back with him toward the back exit. Hercules stepped toward them. The girl had never seen him so angry.

"Let her go."

Lucius sighed and pointed the dagger at his brother.

"I can't. I have very specific plans for this beauty and they require your presence and no one else's...elsewhere. If you bring anyone with you to get her, I'll kill her on the spot."

Nerissa tried to take that moment to stomp on his foot. This only caused him to almost strangle her with the hand that didn't have a dagger. Lucius laughed at her.

"Nice try, sweetheart."

He kissed her cheek, making her not only gag from lack of air. Looking back at his brother, Lucius gave him a sickening smile.

"If you want to try and save her, you'll find us back where I almost got rid of Pollux. Understood?"

In two rapid movements, Lucius stowed away his dagger and pulled Nerissa up into his arms. Multiple shouts went up in that moment as he swept out of the room.

"Hercules! Jason!"

"NERISSA!"

"GUARDS!"

The kidnapped girl tried to keep shouting so they would be easy to find, but at one turn, Lucius stopped and took enough time to hit her on the back of the head to knock her unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11

The next day, all those in the throne room were tense. Jason sat on his throne, his fist attempting to burrow itself into his forehead. Iolaus and Lilith stood with their arms folded across their chests watching Hercules as he paced across the stretch of the red carpet. No one dared attempt to communicate with him as he was in an incredibly foul mood. Ophistus and Balian stood arguing on the left side of the throne.

"He said only Hercules could go!" Ophistus told the Captain calmly," Prince Jason swears that if we send the guards we'll be signing her death warrant."

Balian growled and poked the tutor in the chest.

"This is _my_ daughter. If we do our job right as the guard, we get her out unharmed."

Lilith moved over to the two of them.

"Look, Lucius doesn't want to kill Nerissa. At least...Hercules doesn't think so, right?"

Hercules looked up at them all. He glanced around at them all before rubbing his temples.

"This is somehow tied to a plan to kill me," he told them.

Lilith glared at Iolaus.

"If Iolaus had been her date this never would have happened."

The entire room turned to glare at him. Iolaus scoffed at them and put his hands up.

"Oh, sure! Blame me. Like I was supposed to know this would happen. Typical."

Hercules waved a hand and started his pacing up once again.

"No, it's completely my fault. I never told her about Lucius..."

Jason laughed sourly.

"Yeah, because I'm sure a great time would have come up to mention your mentally unstable half brother, Hercules. It isn't your fault."

Hercules walked up to the throne and slammed his fists into the arms of the throne. A few cracks appeared in the rock.

"Hey!" Jason protested.

"Not my fault? He wants _me_, Jason! You don't seem to understand where this can go. Why would he kidnap her? He thinks that the two of us are romantically involved. If you were some kind of psycho like Lucius, what might you do to the girl of the person you are trying to destroy? He _wants_ me to get mad. There is no winning this situation except that I go alone and get her back."

Balian walked up to Hercules and stared him down.

"Forgive me if I don't trust the young man who got her into this mess."

The two continued to stare at each other until Jason got up with a sigh and separated them. Looking between the two of them he sighed.

"I'm going to let Hercules go on this one. We'll set up the guards a safe distance away but under no circumstances will anyone but Hercules go in unless there is reasonable belief to believe that someone has been killed. Understood?"

Neither male said anything in reply, but it was obvious that they accepted this. Hercules surveyed Balian quickly with his eyes. As he turned to exit the room, he addressed Balian.

"If you acted this concerned in front of Nerissa, there could be more understanding between the two of you. But know this. If both she and I get away from Lucius alive, it is because your daughter is a worthy warrior who I am honored to fight beside."

He didn't even bother looking back to see what reaction his words might have had on the Captain of the Guard.

Not so far away, Nerissa woke up with her body feeling like lead. Lifting her head, she prayed she was only having a horrible dream. She was in a cave with a lit fire in the middle of it. There was a metal cage off to her right and a wooden scaffolding stretching across that side of the cave. The left side had a rack of weapons from swords, to spears, to axes. Shaking her hands, she found her hands tied around a wooden pole. Her legs were also bound at the ankles.

"Oh, so glad you could join me here in reality."

Nerissa's head snapped in the direction of the voice. She was not pleased to see the man who had kidnapped her.

"Who in Hades are you?"

The man gave her a humoring smile.

"I'm slightly hurt that Hercules never mentioned me. I'm his half brother, Lucius. The rightful and greatest son of Zeus. Something I will be proving soon..."

Groaning, the girl stared at him.

"Please tell me this is a joke. You're going to kill me to bother Hercules? That is a bit of an infantile plan, don't you think?"

He laughed at her and moved over to where she was tied. Kneeling to her level, as she was sitting on the ground, he grabbed her chin and leaned close to her.

"How cute. You think you know my plan. No, dear, I will kill Hercules after making him suffer. See, just trying to kill him didn't work out. Nor did going after Jason or his mother. But this...this will be...very satisfying for me."

Nerissa's eyes narrowed as she pulled her face out of his grasp.

"How do you gather that?"

Lucius stood up and walked away from her and over to the cage.

"Because I am going to have him watch helplessly while his rather attractive girlfriend, you, suffer."

Her eyes flicked to the rack of weapons and back to Lucius. He noticed her expression before laughing long and loud. The girl scowled at his laughter as it irritated her.

"Oh, you think-? Haha!"

Nerissa could only raise an eyebrow as the man practically fell to the ground laughing for no good reason. once he stopped, he moved back over to her.

"Oh, no. Not with those silly things. No. Those just give me options when it comes to killing Hercules. For you...I will make Hercules suffer by forcing him to watch while I have my way with you. Lucky for me...you're radiant."

He reached out to touch her face, but she snapped at his fingers like an angry animal. This only seemed to amuse him.

"Charming. You really are. Now excuse me while I wait for our honored guest to arrive."

Nerissa glared at him until he left the cave. Once he was gone she tried to get out of the ropes, but she only succeeded in getting rope burn. She refused to stop trying, though. She pleaded to any gods listening that her and Hercules would get out of this situation. She knew he would come alone. He cared too much about his friends to risk bringing others.

After an hour, she managed to make her right hand small enough to squeeze through the rope. She was about to free her legs and get out, but she hesitated. Thinking about the situation for a moment made her loosen the rope still around her left hand before easily slipping her right hand back where it had been. She sat back and waited for Lucius to come back with Hercules. She was taking a risk that she hoped was worth it.

Nerissa woke with a start. She didn't know how long she had been out, but the sound of Lucius laughing had pulled her into consciousness. Looking up, she saw her captor dragging his half brother into the cave.

"Hercules?" she called out, questioningly.

Her eyes met his and she suddenly felt afraid. His lips were pressed together and his eyes had a steely coldness to them. He had allowed himself to be taken in, something Lucius had counted on. Nerissa's courage toward her plan wavered, seeing her friend being tossed into the metal cage. Taking a deep breath, the girl quickly made sure her hands were still loosely bound before addressing Hercules.

"You shouldn't have come alone."

Lucius grinned gleefully and looked at his brother.

"She's right. But now you'll get to watch the fun."

Hercules glared at the man, his hands wrapping around two bars of the cage. He looked at Nerissa.

"Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head, looking down at her bound feet. She heard him move around the cage toward Lucius.

"Let her go now. I came alone like you asked. This is between me and you, Lucius."

Nerissa took a deep breath as Lucius came over to her. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her to a standing position before looking back over at Hercules.

"I'll let her go...when I'm finished with her."

"What do you mean by that?" Hercules asked, angrily," If you do _anything_ to her-"

"What can you do from that cage?" his brother stated dismissively.

Grabbing Nerissa's face, Lucius pressed his lips to hers. The girl made an angry noise deep in throat. This caused him to grip her face even harder, making her let out a cry of pain. He took the opportunity to shove his tongue into her mouth. Hercules could only watch disgusted and horrified. Lucius suddenly snapped his head away from Nerissa.

"Stupid little-" he cursed.

Nerissa spit out as much saliva in her mouth as she could. It was all she could do to keep from throwing up. Hercules snickered from his cage.

"Didn't know she bites, did you?" he taunted.

Nerissa glared down at the evil male.

"I hope I drew blood."

Lucis snarled before clamping his hand around Nerissa's throat. She struggled against her restraints as she was lifted inches off the ground. In desperation she kicked with her bound legs. She kicked her assailant hard enough in the thigh that he let her go. She crashed to the ground with a painful thud. Ignoring the pain in her side, she sucked in as much air as her lungs would take. Lucius stumbled away toward the rack of weapons. Grabbing a sword, he advanced on her once again. Nerissa's eyes widened, things not going as she had hoped.

"Hercules," she choked, fear tightening her throat," Help, please!"

Her friend pulled at the cage bars urgently. Lucius paid his brother no mind as he advanced on the girl. Nerissa yelped as Lucius swung the sword, cutting the ropes tying her legs. She tried to scramble away across the ground, but he lunged forward and held her down, his sword lying off to the side. Pulling her hands free of the bindings she had loosened, she tried to wrestle him away from her, but she was not a very good hand-to-hand fighter and she was much weaker. Lucius easily pinned her hands together and held them down with his left hand. Nerissa screamed angrily as he ripped her dress.

"That makes it easier," he growled, mostly to himself.

"No! Let go of me!"

Nerissa was astounded as he suddenly did let go of her. It took her a moment to figure out that Hercules had actually gotten the cage bars wide enough open for him to slip out and that it was him who had grabbed Lucius and flung him across the cave. Looking down at her, he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"You have to get out of here," he told her quickly," Balian and half of the guards from Corinth are waiting within a few yards from here."

Nerissa shook her head.

"I can't just leave you he-"

"Nerissa, get out of here."

She was taken aback by the rage he was holding back. Choosing not to upset him, she ran to the cave entrance. Looking back, she found the two males fighting the way only demigods could. They were all over the place, from the scaffolding down to the opposite side of the cave. Turning around again, Nerissa stopped just outside the cave and whistled loudly. She was glad to see that her father got the hint as he and his guards came running out of the trees. Moving back into the cave, the boys did not notice as she slipped around the edge of the cave to the weapon rack. Pulling a sword carefully off of its resting place, she waited for the boys to move back to the cave floor. She was not happy to see Hercules slammed into the ground with Lucius's hand around her friend's throat. Running over, she kicked the psychopath's elbow inwards, breaking bones with a disturbing crack. Lucius screamed, releasing his brother.

"I've had enough of you strangling people," Nerissa said, darkly.

Kicking him over, she put a sword to his throat as Hercules got off the ground. Grabbing his brother, he painfully put the man's hands behind his back as Balian and his guards reached the cave. They waited as Nerissa walked up to Lucius and grabbed his face, making him look into her eyes.

"You will cause no more trouble and go peacefully to the Corinthian jail or else I'll ask a god to make your life miserable."

Lucius sniffed indignantly.

"Oh, really?"

"Really. Don't mess with a daughter of Aphrodite...trust me."

The male's face became confused, but he said nothing in response. Nerissa turned to her father and nodded. He motioned two guards to handcuff and take Lucius away. The rest of the guards filed out with Lucius while Balian went over to Nerissa and Hercules.

"You both are uninjured?" he asked.

Hercules rolled his eyes as Nerissa only nodded.

"Yes, Sir. Hercules did not give Lucius time to hurt me."

The Captain of the guard nodded to Hercules before moving toward the cave entrance.

"Well, let us get back to Corinth before a war breaks out and I'm not there."

As he left, Hercules sighed and looked at Nerissa.

"Why can't he just tell you that he is happy you are okay and that he was worried sick about you? He was ready to charge in here and-"

He stopped as Nerissa put a hand on his arm. She looked up at him pleadingly.

"Can we go?"

Unable to answer with words, he only nodded. There was something in her eyes that he couldn't figure out. Putting an arm around her shoulder, he led her out of the cave. They were silent the entire way back to Corinth.


	12. Chapter 12

Nerissa declined attendance at dinner that evening. Ever since they had arrived back at the palace, she had been holed up inside her room. None of her friends could convince her to come out though they had all tried. After dinner, the four sat around the throne room, worried for the girl. Iolaus lay on the cold stone floor with his legs against the wall while tossing a dinar into the air repeatedly. Jason sat sideways on the throne with his legs over the left side. Lilith and Hercules both were sitting backwards in their dinner chairs. Nerissa's uneaten food sat staring Hercules in the face. With her chair empty, they all felt an obvious absence that depressed them.

"I don't get why she's locked herself in there," Iolaus stated, pocketing his dinar.

Lilith shook her head at him.

"Think about what Lucius was going to do to her. You think something like that wouldn't affect a girl?"

Iolaus rolled onto his stomach, inching forward so his feet pressed against the wall.

"It just isn't healthy. Someone needs to talk to her."

Jason, Lilith, and Iolaus all turned to Hercules. He glanced around at them with an eyebrow raised.

"I'll do it, but why did you all look at _me_?"

Jason swung his legs off the arm of the throne to lean on his knees.

"You were there. I mean...there are things to resolve between you two about Lucius, I'm sure. And you two talk about things all the time! You just...handle women better than Iolaus or me. Lilith _could_ go, but I think talking to a male after this incident is better for her. You can remind her that not all guys are like him."

Iolaus and Lilith nodded. Hercules shrugged and stood up.

"Alright."

Grabbing her plate of food, he headed out of the room. When he was outside her blue bannered door, he knocked loudly.

"Nerissa, it's Hercules. I have your dinner."

"You can come in," he heard her say.

Hercules slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Nerissa was lying sideways across her bed wearing her normal outfit. He smiled at her as he closed the door behind him.

"How do I look upside down?" he asked her, amused by her long hair that flowed down to brush the floor.

"Very similarly to how you look right side up."

He chuckled, relieved that her humor still appeared intact. He walked over to her bed and placed her dinner plate on the nightstand beside the vase of flowers.

"I'm not hungry," she told him.

Looking down at her, he frowned.

"You haven't eaten all day."

"That doesn't mean I'm hu-mmph!"

Hercules had taken the slice of bread on her plate and stuck it into her mouth. He couldn't help but laugh as she glared at him. She unwillingly chewed the bread.

"Yum," he teased her, sitting down on her bed beside her.

Rolling over, she sat up and plucked the un-chewed bread from her mouth before swallowing. They sat beside each other in an awkward silence. Hercules wasn't sure what he could safely say to discuss that day's events. Luckily, Nerissa spoke first. She looked down at the bread in her hand.

"You don't have more psycho brothers do you?"

"No, just him," Hercules sighed," Pollux is very peace loving. I mean, he used to be really into fighting and winning, but Lucius killed his twin brother Castor. After that, Pollux changed."

Nerissa nodded and took a bite out of the bread. Hercules waited until she swallowed before talking again.

"I noticed you freed your hands...why didn't you just run? Did you not have enough time?"

Groaning, the girl pulled her knees up to her chest.

"For one, I didn't know where Lucius went when he left to capture you. I didn't leave because I figured...if we got away he would only try again to kidnap me and kill you. That or...I'd be gone and he would just kill you anyway. If I stayed with my hands free, I figured there was a better chance of catching him off guard. That didn't work out the way I planned since he...completely overpowered me."

Hercules put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know, that was pretty smart. I just wish...you hadn't have gotten dragged into the situation. But, that was my fault."

"I don't want to put blame on anyone," Nerissa said, biting her lip," It just happened."

Hercules put a hand on her head, making her look up at him.

"You shouldn't lock yourself up in your room. Are you trying to make us all worry about you? Is there something that you want to talk about? You know I'll listen."

Nerissa and him locked eyes for a moment before the girl stuffed the entire slice of bread into her mouth. Hercules snorted, seeing that she obviously did not want to talk.

"Imm fuune."

He couldn't help but smile, his eyebrows raising. The slice of bread had still been too big for her to stuff into her mouth like she did. Her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrels. Narrowing his eyes, he grabbed an exceptionally puffy cheek and pinched it.

"Owf!"

"You're fine, huh? Alright. I'll let the others know as long as you promise to come out of your room tomorrow. We have to head back to the Academy, you know."

Waving her hand dismissively, the girl continued to work on chewing the slice of bread. After giving her a pat on the shoulder, Hercules exited the room.

It was the middle of the night when Hercules woke with a start. Looking over to his right, he could have sworn he had heard a creaking sound, but it was too dark for him to see. The only light was a stretch of moonlight that filtered through the only window in the room. Hercules heart beat sped up as he wondered if Lucius had somehow managed the impossible and escaped Corinthian jail. After he and Iolaus had escaped once before, Balian had made the jail impossible to leave from. Sitting up, Hercules squinted into the darkness.

"Who's there? If you don't step into the light-"

He didn't have to finish his harsh commands as someone _did_ step into the light, but he was exceptionally relieved to see who it was. Nerissa shuffled her feet awkwardly, obviously feeling self-conscious for having crept into his room. She had her normal nigh clothes, only she wore the pale green version without the shawl. She instead had a blanket draped over her shoulders. Hercules made to get out of bed, but Nerissa stopped him. Instead, he just looked up at her.

"Nerissa, is everything okay?" he asked, concerned.

She hesitated, glancing around at the darkness.

"Um, I'm...I'm scared."

Hercules raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Of the dark? You're nineteen though, aren't you?"

A hint of Nerissa's normal self shined through the unamused stare she gave him.

"No, Hercules. I'm afraid of...I mean, after what happened with Lucius I keep...I just can't stop-"

"You're afraid he'll get out and come after you again? That isn't going to happen. I won't let it."

Nerissa looked extremely frustrated. She pulled her blanket around her tightly as she took a deep breath.

"It isn't just Lucius. I've never worried about...being taken advantage of. I-I'm scared of being kidnapped and-and-"

Her face went crimson and she pressed her lips together so tightly that they went white. But Hercules understood where he was going now. He patted the empty space of mattress beside him. Nerissa sat down slowly and turned to see him. Even without moonlight, he could see well enough as his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. He put his hand on Nerissa's carefully.

"You know you can trust me, Iolaus, and Jason. Honestly, any one of your friends would kill someone who tried to do anything to you. Normally, you could have gotten away from the guy. Lucius is a special case. You do trust us, don't you?"

Nerissa looked down at his hand as his thumb gently rubbed the top of her hand.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I just...didn't want to go to Lilith because I don't want her to feel paranoid like me and Jason has enough to deal with. And Iolaus-"

Hercules put his other hand up.

"You don't need to explain that one."

He was content to hear her laugh quietly. He just watched her as she pulled her hand away from his and looked down at her lap.

"I have a strange and awkward question to ask you, Hercules."

He blinked, a thousand potentially positive and negative thoughts popping into his head. Wiping those away, he cleared his throat.

"Ask it."

Nerissa swept her curtain of hair over her shoulder before continuing to stare at her lap.

"Could I...stay here tonight?"

Hercules stared at her, jaw slightly unhinged. He imagined her face had to be as red as a strawberry. The girl was moving away from him before he could speak.

"I'm sorry," she gushed," I just feel so alone in my room. If someone came in, no one could help me. That was a silly request. I'll just go to Lilith."

Before she could flee the room, Hercules grasped her shoulder.

"No, Nerissa. It's okay. I was just...surprised. I don't exactly have women asking to sleep with me every night. Ah! When I say sleep with me, I mean beside me. Not that a woman has asked to sleep with me either! Oh gods..."

Hercules felt his face heat up, but he had made her relax. Her shoulder, which had been tensed, had loosened up and he could hear her laughing.

"Well, I have never asked a man if I could sleep with him either."

He smiled and pulled the covers back for her to slip under. The girl pulled her blanket off and placed it over her half of the covers before getting into the bed. Lying back, she turned toward Hercules.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He was surprised as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug more than willingly.

"Any guy who would say no to having you sleep beside them would need to see a physician."

Nerissa pulled out of the hug and he could see her smile through the darkness.

"And any girl who would say no to having you as a friend would be very, very unfortunate."

With a feeling of safety buried in Nerissa's mind, she was able to sleep easily. Hercules had a harder time, for it was still unbelievable to him that a girl was next to him, but a peaceful sleep eventually reached him.


	13. Chapter 13

Hercules awoke to a nice smell. Breathing in, he sighed.

"Lilac," he mumbled, hugged his wonderfully warm blanket tightly.

He stopped suddenly as the blanket protested and moved.

"Ow."

What Hercules had taken for the soft fabric of his blanket was really Nerissa. He began to unwrap himself from around her, as he had an arm and a leg slung over her. He stopped abruptly as she whined and turned herself into his chest and replaced her head on his other arm. She was still asleep. Hercules couldn't help from laughing quietly. Her long was all around her, brushing against his arms, yet her face was fully visible. He watched her sleep until it suddenly dawned on him that he was entangled...in bed...with his female friend...his _very attractive_ female friend. Suddenly, he felt unbearably hot as his temperature rose, embarrassment taking a hold of him.

"Nerissa, wake up."

She groaned and only pressed herself against him.

"Oh, no no!" he whispered, pushing back her waist," Nerissa!"

The sharp ton of his voice made her eyes open. Hercules felt a stab in his chest as he watched her green eyes come into focus. Her long eyelashes entranced him as she blinked at him.

"Hercules?" she asked, groggily.

He gave her a small smile. She suddenly seemed to register that they were wrapped up in each other, causing her to roll away from him.

"I'm so sorry! What time is it? Do you think the others are up yet?" she asked, quickly.

The demigod didn't seem to understand where her mind was until there was a knock on the door.

"Herc?"

It was Iolaus. Both Hercules and Nerissa began cursing. The door was opening already. Hercules pulled her to him again and turned his back to the door. He pushed her head under the blankets just ask Iolaus walked in.

"Breakfast time!"

Hercules waved a hand at him.

"Sure."

Iolaus waited for a moment.

"Coming?"

"Oh, I'll...go on my own. I kind of want to grab a shower first, you know? Going to breakfast in a palace with your pajamas is...sad."

Hercules turned to look over at his friend who just shrugged.

"Okay, if you say so."

The two in the bed sighed as he left, closing the door behind him. Nerissa was just sliding out from under the blankets when there was a shout and Lilith burst in the door.

"Nerissa is gone! Hercules, she's-"

She froze seeing the two of them in bed together.

"-here?"

Nerissa leapt out of the bed swiftly and dashed over to Lilith before the girl could run out. She tackled her. Hercules watched in astonishment as the girls wrestled on the floor.

"You can't tell anyone!" Nerissa told the female.

"But, it's too good! Pleaaaaase!"

Nerissa got the upper hand and pinned Lilith down.

"No!"

Hercules couldn't see Nerissa's face, but her expression must have been something because Lilith seemed to shrink under her gaze.

"I won't say anything...I promise."

The two girls left together quickly, Nerissa only stopping for a moment to wave at Hercules. Once he had showered and dressed, he found the two girls heading to the throne room for breakfast as well. Lilith spotted him first. She waved him over. When he reached them, she linked her arms through both of her friends' arms.

"So, Hercules, did you do dirty thing to Nerissa?" her eyebrows wiggled suggestively.

Nerissa scoffed as Hercules blushed.

"No! Nothing happened. We slept."

Lilith looked disappointed.

"Darn...I hoped Nerissa was lying to me and that you'd had some manly urges to want to-"

Nerissa put Lilith in a headlock as they walked into the throne room. Breakfast was peaceful as Lilith kept her promise not to say anything about what she'd found out. They were just finishing their food when Balian came in armed and outfitted for battle. Everyone stood up quickly.

"There is a rogue raiding party sweeping across the country. We got word from Chiron that the Academy is harboring survivors of villages that have been ransacked. Prince Jason, do we have the order to stop these villains?"

"Of course!" the Prince nodded quickly.

Nerissa was quickly to the door after her father had left.

"I'm going back now. Chiron needs as much as he can. They may try to attack the Academy or Kora's."

She didn't wait to see what her friends would say, because she knew they would follow without question. After they had all grabbed their things, Nerissa was waiting for them in front of the palace with three horses.

"My dad could only spare these," she told them.

Jason hopped onto a horse quickly, motioning Lilith on the back of his. Nerissa handed Iolaus a pair of reins.

"Do you know how to ride?" she asked.

He gave her a confident look.

"They teach us that at the Academy!"

"I'm sorry. Let me rephrase. Are you skilled enough?"

Iolaus laughed sarcastically and got on the horse. Hercules was about to get on the last horse, but Nerissa stopped him.

"Trust me, I'm the faster rider," she said, getting on instead.

Hercules wasn't sure if he should feel insulted or not, but he still got on behind her. He had just enough time to wrap his arms around her waist before she shot off down the path. Jason kept up well while Iolaus trailed behind a bit, but still kept them in sight. At the pace they were going, they would be there much quicker than it ever took them to get to the Academy from Corinth before. They were nearing Kora's when a five children came tumbling out of the woods, screaming. Nerissa pulled the reins around to face the forest. Not far behind the children were members of the raid group. She unsheathed her sword from her waist and yelled back to Iolaus.

"Take the youngest two and ride them back to the Academy, quickly. Jason, you and Lilith make sure the older ones make it. Hercules and I can hold off this many."

Jason rode up to her.

"But there are at least ten of them."

Nerissa smiled at him.

"I won't get off the horse."

Hercules didn't understand that, but Jason apparently did. He nodded and went to the children.

"Hercules-"

"I got it, off the horse."

He jumped off in time to tackled a member of the raid group. Nerissa slammed the hilt of her sword into the second one's head, causing him to crumple on the ground. Hercules didn't have much time to see how Nerissa was doing as he fought, but he could tell she was used to fighting on a horse, much like a castle guard. Now he could see why Jason wasn't worried. Once the raiders had been dumped on the road, groaning, Hercules got back on Nerissa's horse. Two Corinthian guards made it up the road.

"Take care of them, will you?" Nerissa shouted to them before spurring the horse on toward the Academy.

Hercules laughed.

"You're your dad's daughter."

He felt her sigh.

"Yes, well, don't remind me too often."

As they arrived at the Academy, they were amazed to see the place packed with villagers of all ages. There was an outstanding number of children, though. Nerissa scowled.

"I can't imagine how many of them have one parent or even no parents now."

Hercules put a hand on her shoulder as she led the horse to the stables. Once they had finished putting the horse up for the time being, they went inside to find Chiron. Iolaus and Lilith were playing with the children while Jason stood by Chiron. Nerissa smiled, glad that her two friends could make them laugh at a time like this.

"You both made it back safely. Good," the centaur nodded," We need as many people as we can here. Balian already came by to say they have guards on watch so the raiders should leave the Academy alone until they track them all down."

Jason looked at his friends.

"I'm going to let them move to Corinth if they want to," he said," It is the least I can do."

Nerissa hugged her friend with pride. As she let go of him, she suddenly glanced around the room. Quite a few of the younger villager men were looking at her. She shuddered and looked back at Chiron. He had a serious look on his face.

"Your private room as been finished. With a lock, as promised."

Nerissa looked extremely relieved.

"Thank you, Chiron."

Hercules smiled at her.

"Was sleeping near the rest of us so terrible?"

Nerissa flinched, which made Hercules feel bad.

"It's..." she started.

She began to bite her lip, but Jason put an arm around her and gave Hercules a serious look.

"She needs it."

Hercules put his hands up. He hadn't meant any offense. Chiron was called by Fiducius, so he cantered over that way. Jason moved off to help Iolaus who was buried under a bunch of children. Nerissa began walking toward the hall where her room would be. She stopped and noticed a few males had started to follow her. Hercules saw her hands shake slightly. He went over and put a hand on the back of her head before staring back at the males. They turned away quickly, looking a bit sour.

"Trouble follows us demigods everywhere, huh?" he whispered to her.

She nodded before moving off again. Hercules wasn't sure if he should stay and guard the door, but she stopped and turned to him.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

He nodded and followed her to her new room. He was amazed at how much purple was in it. There were two beds, one by a locked window and the other against the wall parallel to the other. The room was relatively feminine with a wardrobe and a sitting table with cushions around it. There was a decorative rug on the floor and purple fabric draped the ceiling.

"Did you design it?" Hercules asked, looking at the purples.

Nerissa nodded and sat on the bed not by the window. Hercules leaned against the stone that made the base of the bed.

"Why two?" he asked, glancing at the empty mattress.

The girl draped her hair over her shoulder quietly and shrugged.

"I guess my father told Chiron about what happened with Lucius. Jason told me this morning, but I told my father no. Jason is a Prince and he..."

Her sentence died up and Hercules wasn't sure what was supposed to be the rest of it. Nerissa glanced at him.

"Hercules...do you remember on our date how I said I was a handful?"

He looked at her face carefully. She was afraid to look him in the eye, which was unnatural. Hercules got off the wall and moved in front of her so she had to look at him.

"Yeah. I told you that you don't have to-"

Her hand reached out to him. He jumped as her hand was cold as ice and she had touched his collarbone.

"I want to," she said to his collarbone.

Hercules frowned and took her hands in both of his.

"Are you okay? You've gone cold."

He grabbed a blanket from her bed and draped it over her shoulders. Nerissa shivered despite that.

"If I tell you my secret...you won't tell others. Especially any males. Not even Iolaus. Promise me."

Her eyes looked up and pleaded with him. Hercules felt himself lean closer to her, her demigod attractiveness pulling him in like a fish on a hook. He swayed and leaned back after being inches away from her face.

"I promise," he answered.


End file.
